Beauty In All She Is
by celaenos
Summary: Set in season 2, Emily has just joined the BAU and finds herself infatuated with JJ. JJ feels the same, and the two dance around each other for a while, not realizing that they feel the same way. Will also include lots of team time, cases, etc.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! So this story is set when Emily first came to the BAU (season 2), everything that happened on the show up to season 2 is canon. It will eventually catch up to the present (probably in sequels) I hope you enjoy:) Please review and tell me what you think. This is my first real slash fiction, so bear with me a little.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination.**

_"If you want a happy ending that depends, of course, on where you stop your story." _

_- Orson Welles_

Jennifer Jareau was not one to get flustered easily. She grew up with an older sister, she was an all star soccer player, grade A student, FBI agent, Communications Liaison, and yet here she was, red faced, blushing, and at a loss for coherent words. Silently, she cursed the raven haired woman in front of her causing this reaction. JJ had never had a problem with women before, she was always the suave one, calm, seductive, never taking anything too seriously; so what was wrong now?

She had been instantly attracted to the brunette the first time she saw her in Hotch's office weeks before, but shrugged it off and focused on the case. When Hotch informed her that the mysterious, cheerful – incredibly sexy – woman was going to be on their team and JJ needed to brief her on protocol, she was a little taken aback, but not worried about it. JJ didn't sleep with people from work, not a big deal.

She had liked the woman from the first moment they officially met. The brunette had introduced herself with a beaming smile and a strong handshake, but clearly a little nervous. It was adorable. JJ took a deep breath and tried to shake the thoughts from her head, this woman was going to be a colleague and she needed to get it together.

They had spent the rest of the afternoon downing cups of coffee and going over basic, dull protocol. Despite that fact, JJ was having a great time. Emily Prentiss was a mystery, one JJ was very interested in solving regardless of her attraction. From the small talk they shared, JJ had learned that she was wealthy, hated politics, and was ready and willing to prove herself and work hard. She would be a great addition to the team, wether Hotch and Gideon thought so or not.

Hearing Prentiss speak Arabic her first day was certainly a shocker to everyone, JJ couldn't help but be impressed. Knowing Spanish, French, or Italian was one thing, they were much more widely used, but Arabic? This woman was defiantly going to make things interesting. JJ shared a look with Garcia who mouthed, _"who is this chick?"_ with a grin on her face. JJ just shrugged back and continued briefing the team. She found herself oddly proud when Emily proved herself on the case to Gideon, to her, it cemented her to the team, and onto the list of people JJ couldn't take home. That bit disappointed her a little, and to blow of steam after the case she hit the bars and picked up a different brunette to take home instead.

* * *

><p>Emily Prentiss was not used to feeling inadequate. Her upbringing – while not ideal – had given her many opportunities, and she had often come up on top, in control. She was not in control. Aaron Hotchner did not want her here and his resentment was felt, strongly. She did what she knew best, put it into a compartment and forgot about it, it was the only thing she could do. She would simply have to prove herself, she could do that. She was a Prentiss, she deserved this job, she belonged in this unit, and she would show them all that. Emily hated being the new kid. She had done it a million times throughout her childhood, new country, new language, new school, new classmates, but hardly ever new friends. She was lonely, but she wasn't about to show that to anyone, she would show up, do her job and do it well, then go home and repeat it again in the morning. She wasn't looking to make friends, she wanted a job; but the blonde communications liaison seemed to have other ideas. She was friendly and bubbly from the moment Emily stepped into her office and it was contagious. It didn't hurt that she was downright beautiful. Emily did her best to ignore that fact though, she wasn't here to make friends and she certainly wasn't here to start up a relationship with a coworker. Besides, Jennifer Jareau was most definitely straight and Emily had just come out of a rather unpleasant relationship.<p>

Emily listened intently to everything Hotch and Gideon told her, she made eye contact with the team, placed a smile on her face, and focused on her job. It paid off. Everyone looked at her oddly as she began reading the transcripts out loud. She cursed herself for drawing unwanted attention and kept her head down. But Emily couldn't help smiling a little to herself at the impressed look on JJ's face.

The case had been difficult, but at the end of the day she felt proud of what she had done and wanted more than ever to prove herself to the entire team. Gideon was a confusing man to know, she was never really quite sure what he was thinking or how she stood with him. Reid seemed like a person who would accept just about anyone – even a boy who might grow to be a serial killer – and Emily found him easy to get along with. Garcia was definitely the most flamboyant person she had ever met, and she charmed her instantly. Emily was a little wary of her as she seemed to be fantastic at getting people to open up to them, but Emily liked her. Despite not knowing Morgan very well, Emily felt strongly with the others that he would not commit a crime and she worked tirelessly to help defend him.

As the weeks and cases went by, Emily felt herself feeling more and more comfortable with these people, if nothing else, she enjoyed their company and trusted them in the field. It was outside of work when she questioned things. Garcia was adamant about spending time with her 'family' as she called them. More specifically, Morgan and JJ than anyone else, but Reid – and recently Emily – were always invited as well. Not wanting to grow too attached, and figuring the more time she limited her interactions with JJ the better, Emily had declined more than once. After the case with Morgan though, all of them wanted to spend time together, and she found herself accepting Garcia's offer.

She went home to change and had a difficult time deciding what to wear. She didn't want anything too revealing or flashy, but she wanted to look good. In the end, she chose her best pair of dark jeans that showed off her ass, and a red, backless tank top. Donning a light jacket, and grabbing her keys, she headed out to catch a cab, rather than drive herself and get lost.

Emily was not a big clubber. She was a nerd. She liked to stay home and read books or watch sci-fi tv shows. When it came to dating, she always found herself awkward and uncomfortable, wether she was on a date with a man or a woman. For this reason, she rarely dated; finding that opening up to people just wasn't easy for her, and meaningless sex was not her style. The few dates she had been on were almost always forced upon her by her mother. Hoping for Emily to settle down with a respectable man and make babies was her dream. Despite the many times Emily told her that she preferred women, and didn't see marriage or babies in her future regardless if she was with a man or a woman. As the cab pulled up to the club Garcia had told her to meet them at she swallowed nervously. It was loud, and very busy. Emily planned then and there to go in, make an appearance, have a drink, make some small talk and get out of there early. She would come up with some excuse, pull out a function with her mother if necessary, just as long as she got out.

* * *

><p>"What time did you tell her to meet us?" JJ asked Garcia for the third time that evening.<p>

"Jayje, she'll be here, relax."

"I'm relaxed."

"You don't look it."

"Well I am!"

"Umm, hum." Garcia said with a smirk as she sipped her drink and wiggled her eyebrows at her best friend.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Jayje, you totally have the hots for our newest member."

"I do not!"

"Please sweetie, I have seen the way you look at her. Tell me honestly, if she didn't work with us, if you had just met her in a bar, would you have jumped her bones already?"

"I don't really like what you're implying."

"Jayje, your a womanizer and you know it, you're also avoiding the question."

"Womanizer is a harsh word. I like to have a good time."

"In bed, with various women."

"Penelope!" JJ yelped. Sure, JJ got around, but it wasn't like she had a different woman in her bed every night, or every week for that matter. Garcia exaggerated like no other, and the last thing JJ wanted Prentiss to hear what that she was a whore.

"Oh come on JJ, you've got a way with the ladies, I love you for it. Stop avoiding the question."

"What question?" Morgan asked as he and Reid returned to the table with their drinks.

"Nothing." JJ said quickly. She glared at Garcia to keep quiet.

"Is Emily coming?" Reid asked.

Garcia raised her eyebrows at JJ before answering him. "Yep. She said she would meet us, should be here any minute."

Spotting her Morgan whistled loudly. "Damn Princess, you sure clean up good." He yelled over the music with a grin plastered on his face. His grin nowhere near matched the one currently etching onto JJ's face however. Prentiss looked stunning. She felt Garcia pinch her side and squirmed away slightly, almost smacking Emily as she approached their table. JJ glared as Garcia only smiled innocently. Returning the favor, JJ delivered a swift kick to Garcia's shins as she greeted Emily.

"Ouch!" Garcia yelped. Everyone looked at her oddly. "Whacked my knee." She explained feebly.

"Scoot over Reid." JJ instructed him as she made room for the brunette profiler. As she slid into the seat JJ had to hold back a gasp when she noticed that her tank top was backless. Avoiding Garcia's gaze, JJ bit her lip and stared down into the bottom of her drink.

"Who wants to dance!" Garcia asked. Reid vehemently began shaking his head and after Emily politely declined, claiming to not be much of a dancer, JJ did the same. Garcia frowned, JJ usually was always up for dancing, but just sighed and pulled Morgan with her onto the dance floor, leaving the three others alone. JJ was fighting a losing battle and she knew it. Sitting next to Prentiss in a club, with her dressed like that, two drinks in, JJ wanted nothing more than to lean over and kiss the brunette with everything she had. Thankfully, Reid spoke up saving the awkward silence that had been there since Garcia and Morgan left.

"Do you like DC Emily?"

"I do, thanks."

_God._ JJ thought. _Her smile is beyond adorable._

"Did you know that the population in DC is roughly 587,867?"

"No, I didn't know that Reid." Emily answered politely. JJ smiled. Not many people humored him, and for some reason the fact that Emily did made JJ like her even more. She had a soft spot for Reid; he had had a crush on her when they began working together. She had even gone on a 'date' with him to a Redskins game, but she had told him that she also liked women and they had become close friends instead. The three of them sat quietly for a few moments, JJ couldn't believe that she was having this much difficulty coming up with something to say. Her job was in communications for fuck's sake! Again, Reid saved her, and it took all her control not to reach over and hug him for it.

"Do you watch Doctor Who?"

"Yes!" Emily answered enthusiastically. Reid's face lit up and the two of them began discussing something called a TARDIS, Nine, Ten, time travel and a woman named Rose. JJ was completely lost; Reid had tried to get her to watch that show on more than one occasion, but she had never gotten around to it. Now though, from the look on Emily's face, she just might have to. Dear Lord, Emily was a complete nerd. JJ couldn't find her more adorable right now if she tried. She didn't even mind that the brunette wasn't paying any attention to her. Watching her and Reid animatedly discuss their favorite episodes with goofy, giddy, expressions on their faces suited her just fine. Before she knew it, she found herself leaning forward, her chin in her hands, watching Emily as the two of them talked.

* * *

><p>Emily was extremely aware of how close JJ was to her. It took all of her concentration to focus on her conversation with Reid and not the heat radiating off of the blonde inches away from her. The night had started off awkwardly and Emily was just about to make an excuse to go home when Reid brought up Doctor Who. It was one of her nerdy guilty pleasures, and she could fangirl with the best of them. Before she knew it, hours had flown by. Garcia and Morgan had come back, danced, pulled JJ out with them, and returned again without a pause in Emily and Reid's conversation. Once they finally noticed the late hour, Emily found herself reluctant to go home. She was actually enjoying herself, and it wasn't only to do with Reid. JJ smiled at her every time their eyes met, causing Emily to catch her breath a little; and Garcia and Morgan were great company. Emily actually liked these people, beyond work, and that frightened her. Getting attached was never a good thing. Emily moved on so much in her life to have learned that by now. While she had no intentions of leaving the BAU anytime soon, one could never be too sure. She bid everyone goodnight and hailed a cab, cursing herself for letting her guard down yet again.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for your reviews, glad you guys seem to be liking it so far!**

JJ walked into Garcia's office and set down a cup of coffee while digging through the files in her hand.

"Hey!" Garcia yelled. "No coffee near my babies." She quickly moved JJ's mug away as JJ just shrugged apologetically at her.

"Garcia, look at this map, he's going across the country. Its like he takes a vacation in Gloconda. There has to be something of significance for him there." Frusturated, JJ sat down and took a sip of her coffee. This case was nothing short of stressful and unpleasant and JJ just wanted it to be over. To top it off, all she could think about was Emily. Emily in that red shirt with a goofy grin on her face, talking about nerdy things with Reid. Despite the horrors this killer brought on, JJ found herself thinking of Emily and smiling.

"You're doing it again Kitten." Garcia said without looking up from her computer.

"Doing what?" JJ asked.

"Thinking about a certain raven haired profiler?"

"What?" JJ scoffed, trying to appear confused about the accusation. "No I'm not, I'm thinking that maybe we should call Hotch and tell him about the pattern."

"We already did." Garcia answered her with a smirk.

"Right."

"Sweetie, there is nothing wrong with liking Prentiss, why won't you just admit it?"

"Because Penelope we work together and I have no idea if she even likes women."

"Please, that swagger? She's at least bisexual."

"Regardless, we still work together, it's unprofessional."

"Oh god who cares? True love wins out."

"Woah, true love? Hell no! I don't buy into that stuff, is she hot? Yes, no true love involved anywhere."

"Yeah, but hot, hot sex could lead to true love."

"No. Garcia, we have possibly one of the worst serial killers in the history of serial killers right now, lets maybe focus on that okay?"

"Fine, but if you think I'm letting you off the hook, you've got anther thing coming."

* * *

><p>Emily couldn't help but show her horror slightly as she, Hotch and Reid discovered Frank's trailer.<p>

"I thought I'd seen everything." Hotch said, clearly distressed. Emily had to stop herself from covering her mouth.

"There's a body." Hotch bent down, "she's dead."

"Hotch!" Reid called. They lifted the metal case and found George. _Thank God_. Emily thought. _She's alive. _

They got out as quickly as possible and made their way back to the diner. Emily just wanted this case to be over. She wanted to go home and take a bath and read a book. Nothing about letting Jane go with Frank and Gideon made her feel comfortable. Jane was mentally ill, it wasn't fair to let her make this decision. As they pulled out Emily got the feeling that nothing about this case was going to end well. She and Reid sat quietly together as they waited for Gideon to call. Neither was sure of what to say, she didn't know if she started it or Reid did but next thing Emily knew, they were resuming a conversation on Doctor Who.

"I don't have anything against Martha, she's fine, I even like her, I just liked Rose much better." Emily stated.

"I agree, I found Rose a more engaging character, though Martha is highly intelligent, and I like the fact that she is an actual doctor."

"Guys, Gideon called." Morgan said approaching them. Emily and Reid stood up and followed him quickly to the car as they drove where Gideon found the children. Emily couldn't believe that the footprints simply stopped. She just wanted to get on the jet and go home, put this case away in her head and stop thinking about it. As they flew home, Emily found herself unable to get Jane out of her head, no matter how hard she tried. As they walked back into the bullpen, Emily saw JJ walking toward them. Even clearly exhausted, she looked beautiful and Emily couldn't help but smile.

"Hey guys, Hotch wanted me to tell you that you don't have to come in until noon tomorrow."

"Seriously?" Morgan asked, excitedly. JJ nodded to him with a grin on her face.

"Thank god." Emily said. She caught JJ's eye as she turned to leave the bureau, they smiled – somewhat awkwardly – at each other and headed out to the parking lot. Emily drove home slightly faster than she should have, dropped her go bag down in her living room, and headed straight for the bathtub. Not bothering to eat – she couldn't really cook anyway – she poured herself a glass of wine, found the book she had been reading, and slipped into the steaming hot water. Her muscles screamed at her, and then eventually she began to relax. After she had read over five chapters, the water began to grow cold, and her head began dropping down; she figured falling asleep and drowning in the bathtub was a very undignified way to go. Her mother would have a shit fit. Not wanting to cause an international scandal and disappoint Elizabeth Prentiss more than she already did, she climbed out. Digging around in her dresser, she found some underwear and a large t-shirt and crawled into bed. The second she shut the lights out, her stomach began growing. She tried to ignore it and just fall asleep, but it would not be ignored, she hadn't eaten for hours. Groaning, she found her cell phone and ordered some lo mein and egg rolls from the chinese place down the street and plopped down onto the couch to wait. All that was on tv were late night talk shows and reruns of every version of CSI imaginable. Annoyed, she settled on a talk show that was semi entertaining and tried to stay awake.

Her buzzer rang about twenty minutes later and she got up to pay the man, ignoring the fact that she didn't have any pants on. She dug in quickly, eating so fast it made her stomach hurt. Emily put the rest in the fridge – breakfast tomorrow – and exhausted, climbed back into bed and finally fell asleep.

* * *

><p>The prospect of not having to go into work until noon made JJ giddy with excitement. She wanted nothing more than to forget this case ever happened. JJ went home, made a quick turkey sandwich, and changed into one of her more sluttier dresses. She grabbed her car keys and headed out. When she arrived at the club, she made her way straight to the bar – feeling the need to get properly intoxicated. JJ was a regular and the bartender smiled as she passed over her drink. Downing it, JJ headed out to the dance floor determined to erase this case from her mind. The music beat steadily and JJ moved her body to it quickly, closing her eyes. A few moments later, she felt hands wrap around her waist.<p>

"Hey JJ." A sultry voice said from behind. JJ turned and smiled at the brunette woman.

"Megan." JJ greeted her. Without another word, JJ wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck and pulled her in closer, pressing their bodies together. They danced for about four more songs before the need to get somewhere much more private grew too great. JJ grabbed Megan's hand and pulled her outside and into her car. The two women stumbled into JJ's apartment, hands groping, clothes dropping, as they made their way to her bedroom. As JJ kissed her way up Megan's stomach, she found herself imagining that she was kissing Emily. It shook her a little and she opened her eyes and stared at Megan.

"What?" She laughed.

"Nothing." JJ answered as she hovered over the woman. "Nothing."

An hour later, JJ was very unsatisfied and grumpy as she plastered on a smile and kicked Megan out. She never let anyone stay over, not even Megan, who she slept with on a semi regular basis. JJ was frusturated. She was good in bed, so was Megan, she had never had any problems before, but now, all she could think about was Emily. Her raven hair, her pale skin, dark eyes, the way she wore her belt slightly off to the side, and her watch backwards, and how completely kissable her lips must be. Groaning, JJ flopped down into her bed and tried to will herself to sleep.

* * *

><p>Emily woke up late.<p>

Cursing, she ripped her clothes off and took the fastest shower of her life. It would look completely unprofessional to be given the morning off and still come waltzing in late. She didn't need to give Hotch and the team another reason to think she didn't belong there. Throwing on a suit, she grabbed the bag of egg rolls and ran to her car. _Shit._ She thought as she drove – above the speed limit - _I forgot coffee_. Taking a huge bite of a cold egg roll at a stop sign she realized this day was not going to bode well, she could feel it now. Emily parked her car, locked it, grabbed her bag, stuffed the last of an egg roll in her mouth and sprinted into the bureau.

"Right on time Princess." Morgan greeted her with a smile. Shucking her coat and setting down her bag, Emily glared at him. She pulled her chair out only to whack it against her knee.

"Fuck!" Emily cursed under her breath as she tried not to wince.

"Are you okay?" JJ's concerned voice asked from behind her. Morgan was trying to contain his laughter as JJ reached over with her free hand and smacked him on the head. The coffee in her other hand she passed over to Emily with a small smile. "Black, one packet of splenda right?"

"Oh my God JJ, I could kiss you!" Emily moaned as she took a sip. Realizing what she just said, Emily felt her face grow red. "I mean, thank you."

"No problem" JJ said with a laugh. She walked back up to her office as Emily, Morgan and Reid began to work through their files. Embarrassed, Emily glanced up towards JJ's office. The fact that she knew exactly how Emily liked her coffee, that she bothered to pay attention, and do something as simple as bring it to her, touched Emily more than she wanted to admit.

* * *

><p>JJ burst into her office and leaned against the door with a sigh. She could not believe the effect Emily telling her she wanted to kiss her caused. It was embarrassing to say the least. She sat down at her desk and began the overwhelming task of going through case files.<p>

* * *

><p>Emily carried three beers in her hands with a grin on her face. Laughing at Morgan smack dab in the middle of three women on the dance floor, she warned him that the one in the back could take his wallet. Handing the beers over to Haley and Hotch, she sat down next to Garcia. While clubs were not really her thing, she had a good time days before and seeing Hotch come along with his wife was intriguing. Garcia completely ignored her – her attention was focused solely on Morgan – Emily politely answered Haley when she asked how everyone was treating her.<p>

"Everyone is very nice." She said. Haley pulled Hotch onto the dance floor and Emily couldn't help but smile. Hotch may not be her favorite person, but seeing how happy he was with his wife was a nice change. It made her feel happy and lonely at the same time. Scanning the room, her eyes landed on JJ over in the corner playing darts. She was creaming the men who were attempting to play against her. Emily watched as JJ's phone rang and she stepped outside to take the call. Groaning, she figured they must have a case.

The team assembled back at the BAU and Emily took a sip of her coffee as Gideon arrived in the conference room. JJ began briefing them on the case; a couple, Dennis and Lacy Kyle were murdered in their home in an Atlanta suburb an hour ago. One of the unsubs called from the home telling the police he was going to kill the victims.

"You're kidding?" Morgan asked.

"Nope." JJ answered. "The dispatcher said the first male sounded terrified and begged them to get there quickly because the other male, a Raphael, was going to kill the sinners. 911, said they would send a tape of the recording to Garcia."

"What was the response time?" Reid asked.

"Uh..." JJ looked at her file. "Four minutes and twenty-two seconds." JJ clicked the remote and showed the crime scene photos. To her side, Emily heard Garcia gasp and cover her eyes with a folder. Emily studied the photos while JJ continued on. "Mr. Kyle was one of those dot-com millionaires, when the police arrived on scene they found a page from Revelations." She glanced down at her file again. "Chapter six, verse eight, laying on the bed."

"These unsubs are mission based killers. They're not going to stop until they've completed whatever it is they've set out to do." Reid stated.

"Wheels up in twenty." Hotch announced as he stepped out of the room, Gideon following close behind.

On the plane Garcia conversed with the team via video feed. She played the 911 call for them. Emily noticed that the first unsub sounded frightened.

"He might be doing this against his will." She mentioned.

"No." Gideon said, shaking his head. "I doubt it." Emily nodded and quieted down. She needed to get herself together and work harder. The more mistakes she made, the longer it was going to take for everyone to respect her. If they ever did. Glancing up, she caught JJ's eye, who smiled at her. She returned it half-heartily, but glanced back down, willing herself to focus on the case.

"The first unsub could have just called out to save them, rather than call 911." Morgan stated.

"The second unsub said that Raphael was going to kill _them_, could there be a third?" JJ asked.

"Probably not, its not uncommon for an unsub to refer to himself in the third person." Reid explained to JJ.

"I'll run the name through the Georgia database and ours and see what I come up with. Garcia out, crime fighters, stay safe!" Emily couldn't help but smile at Garcia, her perkiness really helped during these cases sometimes.

"These unsubs are not going to stop until their mission is complete. We need to hit the ground running as soon as we arrive. JJ, I want you to go get pictures of the victims, Prentiss, head to the morgue to examine the wounds on the bodies. We need to know how the unsub managed to kill two victims in four and a half minutes. There may have been other murders, I'll set up at the field office in Atlanta, to review some other files."

"Morgan, Reid, you're with me at the crime scene." Gideon added as the plane began to land.

Emily hated morgues. No matter how many times she saw a dead body, it never really got any easier, more bearable perhaps – she somewhat knew what to expect – but never easier. She greeted the medical examiner with a tight smile and they got down to business. He explained that the murders had been extremely efficient; each wound was similar, both victims had their throats cut and a gash up on one arm from the wrist to the elbow, along with a gash down from the crotch to the upper thigh.

"How much knowledge of anatomy would the unsub need to know to do this?"

"Its basic knowledge, these victims were killed as if one would slaughter an animal. It could be a hunter or a farmer, basically anyone in Georgia."

"Thanks." Emily said, shaking his hand. _Anyone in Georgia, extremely helpful._ She thought as she left the morgue.

* * *

><p>"Hotch!" JJ called out as she made her way over to him. "The Gentrys were the last to leave the Kyles Super bowl party. According to them, the Kyles didn't have any enemies, good people, more generous than they needed to be."<p>

"Why were they picked?" Hotch asked. JJ shrugged. "Their house is nice, but you can't see that from the street, so this wasn't random."

JJ glanced up as Agent Franks walked up and told them he couldn't find any case files that matched the unsub's MO. Hotch shared a look with her and she plastered on a smile, turning to Agent Franks. "Would it be alright if I go through some of the files?" She asked. "I flew all the way out here, and I've got nothing to do."

"Sure darling, follow me." He said with a smirk. JJ did everything she could not to roll her eyes as she followed him. Turning over her shoulder she smiled at Hotch, who just grinned and shook his head as he went back to his file.

As Gideon, Morgan and Reid arrived back at the police station JJ headed out to meet them. Emily walked in a moment later and JJ made sure to sit down on the opposite side of her next to Gideon as they watched the video file from Garcia. She needed to focus on the case, not how great Emily's suit hugged her body. The video was dark and hard to see, Reid noticed that the camera was on in the station and that the unsub was watching them through the wireless internet. JJ couldn't help but be completely creeped out by that fact. Catching Emily's eye, she could see the same could be said for her. Garcia began checking to see if the Kyles had gotten some sort of tech support in recent weeks.

"You guys, this video has gone crazy viral, its the most downloaded video on the internet right now."

"People probably don't realize its real. They probably just think its a promo for a horror movie." JJ said. If they thought it was real, JJ didn't want to think about how wrong that would be.

"Well, the unsub is right about one thing." Morgan said. "The world is pretty screwed up." As Emily began explaining to the team about the nature of the wounds, JJ sat frusturated only half listening. Reid and Morgan began discussing the levels of organization the unsubs had.

"It's strange that the unsub who seems to be in more control made the call, and yet he can't seem to stop the other unsub from killing." Reid commented.

"Is this all we have?" Gideon asked, somewhat angrily. No one spoke, JJ found herself glancing up and catching Emily's eye. The brunette was just as frusturated as the rest of them. "Its not enough." Gideon stated.

"Franks was right, none of the other open cases fit the MO, but I looked at unsolved home invasions and there was a prowler call made from outside the Kyles home earlier. The witness' name was..." JJ glanced down at the file in her hands. "Tobias Hankel. He lives on hour outside of Atlanta."

"JJ, Reid, go there, see if you can find out anything else." Hotch ordered them. Reid gave her a small smile as they stood up to leave. Catching Emily's eye one more time, she turned and followed Reid out of the station. As they got into the car, JJ headed straight for the driver's seat. Reid was good at a lot of things, driving was not really one of them. They drove mostly in silence for the first fifteen minutes.

"JJ, do you like Emily?"

"What?" JJ asked shocked. If Reid noticed something, she must have been glaringly obvious.

"Do you?"

"Reid, I have no idea what you're..."

"I think you guys would be good together." He said as he turned to look out the window. JJ didn't know how to respond. So she just remained quiet, grateful that Reid did the same. As they approached the house JJ knocked on the door and got her credentials out. A timid man opened the door only a few inches.

"Hello Mr. Hankel, I'm SSA Jennifer Jareau, this is Dr. Spencer Reid, we're with the FBI, may we come in?" She asked politely.

"I don't let anyone into the house, my father doesn't like it." He answered. JJ narrowed her eyes slightly in confusion. Sharing a look with Reid, he spoke up quickly, pretending he needed to use the bathroom. Hankel still refused and Reid asked why a man in his thirties still obeys his dad. JJ couldn't help but wonder as well, this man was giving her the creeps, but she couldn't really explain why. "At what age does one start disrespecting one's parents wishes?" Hankel asked them. Rather than drag this out, JJ figured they weren't getting into the house, and she needed to get the answers they came for.

"Mr. Hankel, we're just here to ask you about the disturbance you witnessed. You saw someone going over the wall and you called the police?" JJ asked him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said as he shut the door in their faces. JJ was annoyed, frusturated and still creeped out.

"That's weird." She said to Reid as they walked down the steps. "Why would someone call the police and then deny it ever happened?" Reid was silent as they walked slowly towards the car. JJ knew that look, he was on to something. "Reid?"

"To gauge the response time..." He said slowly.

"What?" JJ asked, but Reid ran away from her and back to the house. "Reid!" She called after him. He crouched down and peered into the window. A second later he waved her over. "What are you..."

Reid cut her off. "Its him, he's got all the monitors, he saw me."

"Reid!" JJ said crouching down and leaning closer into the wall. They both pulled out their guns and ran back around the house to the barn. JJ wished they had some sort of backup. While she knew that she was a good shot, she had yet to fire her weapon in the field. As much as she trusted Reid, JJ had to admit, she would feel a lot more assured with Morgan or Emily. They knelt down outside the barn door.

"JJ, call Hotch."

"There's no service." JJ reminded him. _Of course_. She thought._ Make this as difficult as possible._

"Okay, you go and I'll cover the back. They know where we are, we'll just have to wait for them to back us up." With that he ran off before JJ could protest about splitting up. This was not a good idea. JJ took a deep breath and headed into the barn, her gun and light steady in front of her. She was just thankful that her hands weren't shaking. It was pitch black, and even with the light, she could barley see a thing. Hearing a disgusting squish under her boot, JJ pointed her flashlight at the ground. She was standing in a pool of blood. Quickly she stepped back and tried to calm herself, but heard a noise. Turning around her light caught the sight of three huge black dogs snarling at her. Before she could react, one of them jumped at her. Screaming, JJ fired three shots.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm glad you guys seem to be liking it so far; thank you for all your comments, they make my day! **

Emily ran next to Morgan, her gun out, on full alert. They neared the barn and heard a noise.

"Stop! FBI!"

Emily had never been more relived to hear JJ's voice, despite the fact that she had her gun drawn on them.

"JJ?" Morgan yelled calmly. He began to holster his gun as not to scare the blonde further. "JJ its us, Morgan and Prentiss."

"JJ..." Emily said, quickly moving toward her. "JJ?." The blonde turned with wide, frightened eyes, mumbling something about dogs.

"They tore her apart, I had to shoot them, they jumped at me."

"JJ, look at me." Emily said softly as she moved closer to JJ. "Where's Reid?"

JJ finally glanced at Emily and made eye contact, seeming to finally jolt to reality. "We spilt up, he went around the back." Emily noticed her shaking slightly and glanced to Morgan who frowned. He was clearly annoyed that they had split up. Emily found herself placing a protective arm around JJ's shoulder as she moved her away from Morgan. He ran to the back to look for Reid as Emily directed JJ to the ambulance. Emily stood close by, not wanting to leave JJ alone as the EMTs checked her out. Noticing Deputy Farraday, Emily walked over to ask him if there was any word on Reid. Not before glancing back to make sure JJ was okay. Morgan walked up to her and pulled her aside. Telling her that Reid went around back to the cornfield, and there were signs of someone being dragged away. Deputy Farraday's phone rang and he told them that a man matching Hankel's description was seen asking for directions to a motor lodge in Fort Bend.

"I'll go tell Hotch and Gideon." Morgan said.

* * *

><p>JJ felt numb. Reid was missing, and it was her fault. Nothing came out of the Fort Bend tip and JJ couldn't stop running the events of the night through her head. The team assembled inside of Hankel's home as Hotch went to go get Garcia. They would need her to work through all of his computer equipment. JJ sat down next to Emily at the table and half-heartily went through Hankel's diaries with the rest of the team. She barely registered what she was reading which only made her feel worse for not helping Reid. Hotch arrived with Garcia and she went straight to work on the computers after casting a comforting look to JJ. The blonde profiler could hear Emily updating Hotch about the diaries, telling him there was extensive information, but it was a lot to go through and they didn't really have much time.<p>

"Hankel knew enough to throw us of his trail to Fort Bend." Emily said.

"Hankel's interaction with the police has been consistent, they always reinforce him as an instrument of God. To him, with God on his side, no one can stop him." Gideon stated, annoyed. He went back to looking through the diaries. JJ excused herself and went to find a bathroom. She was of no help to any of them right now, and she just needed a minute alone.

* * *

><p>Emily saw JJ slip out of the room. She had been going through the diaries and found a piece of paper for a Narcotics Anonymous meeting from about twelve years ago.<p>

"Gideon!" Emily showed him the paper and he told her to follow up on it. Wanting to check on JJ, Emily went to go find her to see if she would like to come along. Emily figured that she had gone to the bathroom, and walked down the narrow hall. Glancing inside the open door Emily was shocked to see JJ turn around and begin to pull her gun on her.

"JJ! Hey its me!" Emily said holing her hands up.

"Sorry." JJ said, trying to calm herself down. "You startled me."

Emily nodded, realizing how shaken up and embarrassed JJ was. The best thing for her to do was just pretend it was normal. She didn't want to make JJ feel any worse. "Its okay." Emily reassured her. She had to bring her hands down and clench her fists to stop herself from reaching out to JJ and hug her. "I found an old paper for a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, Gideon told me to go check it out. Do you want to come along? Get out of the house?"

"Yeah sure." JJ answered. Emily nodded and turned to give JJ some privacy before they headed out, but JJ stopped her. "Emily?" She said moving closer to her. "How come none of this gets to you?" Emily paused, confused by the comment.

"What do you mean?"

"You came of a desk job."

Before Emily could respond, she heard Hotch behind them. "She's right, you've never blinked."

Emily knew JJ was shaken up, and she expected this kind of treatment from Hotch, but she was hurt that JJ would confront her like that. Flustered, Emily backed up slightly from JJ and away from Hotch before answering. "I guess I just compartmentalize better than most people." _Or I've seen much worse with Interpol._ Emily thought before walking away from them both. Her undercover assignments before the BAU were just that, undercover. She couldn't mention anything with Doyle or any of her other work to the team. Besides, it was in her past, it was over. Doyle was in jail, Declan was safe, and Emily never wanted to think about it again.

"Hotch!" They heard Morgan yell. "We found something!" Emily followed Hotch to Morgan finding Tobias Hankel's father in a room covered in ice, decomposing.

* * *

><p>JJ felt better now that she had on different cloths. She could feel slight resentment coming from Emily and felt badly about how her question had come off. JJ hadn't meant it as an accusation, she truly just wanted to know how she coped.<p>

"Emily, I wasn't trying to make it seem like you don't care." JJ said as they drove to meet Tobias' NA sponsor. "I just..."

"Its fine JJ, I get it." Emily answered back, keeping her eyes on the road and not on JJ.

"Its just, Reid has to be okay."

Emily paused a moment or two before asking a question that startled JJ. "I don't mean to pry, and its fine if you don't want to tell me, but are you and Reid...together?"

"What!" JJ asked, shocked. "No, no! I...we went on a date over a year ago, but I didn't know it was a date until we got there."

"He's not your type?" Emily asked. The tone of her voice confused JJ a little, she sounded almost hopeful. JJ shook it off, it had to be her projecting her own feelings onto the situation, nothing more.

"Not even close." JJ snorted. "I love the guy, but like a brother or something."

"Oh." Emily gripped the steering wheel tightly. "So who is?" She asked a moment later.

"Hum?" JJ asked, caught off guard a little.

"Your type?" Emily asked.

"Oh..."

"I mean...I just figured it would be nice to talk about something else than this case for a minute." Emily said with a nervous little laugh. _God, she's adorable_. JJ thought. She didn't really want to have this conversation. She wasn't hiding the fact that she was gay. Garcia, Reid and Morgan knew. JJ and Morgan had even double dated together before – not something JJ felt like doing again any time soon. She was pretty sure Hotch and Gideon knew as well, they weren't people she talked about her personal life to, but she was pretty sure she had spoken about girls in front of them before. It was simply the fact that Emily was currently the object of her affections that she didn't really want to talk about it. JJ figured she might as well, nothing would happen with Emily regardless and she didn't want to lie.

"Well, usually I go for women." JJ said. Not mentioning she usually went for tall, brunette women. Telling Emily she was gay was one thing, telling her that she fit JJ's type to a T was another.

"Oh.." Emily said softly. If JJ didn't know better, she would think she caught a hint of a smile.

"How about you?" JJ asked, trying to come off as nonchalant as possible.

"Oh...um, I don't know. I don't really have a type I guess. Not the men my mother sets me up with, that's for sure." JJ laughed, but couldn't help feeling disappointed. _Men, of course_. JJ figured, but hearing it confirmed sucked. "I don't really have a type with women either." Emily said softly. JJ had to stop herself from smiling.

"Your bi?"

"Uh, I guess. I mean I've had relationships with guys, but I guess I lean more towards women. My mother still hopes." Emily answered without looking at JJ; which was a good thing, because a grin was making its way across her face. "We're here." Emily said stiffly and climbed out of the car without another word.

As soon as they arrived back at the Hankel farm, Emily and JJ began explaining about Tobias' drug abuse brought on by the abuse of his father. Emily stood as far away from JJ as she could. She had been quiet and awkward since their conversation in the car. They went into Hankel's computer room when Morgan and Garcia called them. A video of Reid popped up, JJ was horrified at his appearance.

"He's been beaten!" Emily exclaimed. Glancing over, she caught JJ's eye and then looked back over at the computer. Watching Reid be forced to chose someone to live, or die was horrible. JJ grew more and more angry at Hankel. It was horrible what his father did to him, but it didn't for one second excuse what he was doing now. She just wanted Reid back safe with them. When the team got back from the second crime scene, JJ headed into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. Morgan practically tried to bolt out of the room at the sight of her. JJ asked if he blamed her, in a way, hoping he would say yes. She certainly blamed herself. His non answer and short attitude only made her feel worse. Annoyed, JJ went to go find Garcia.

"Is there any more video of Reid?" She asked.

"No, but he just posted the last murder."

"Show me." JJ stated, her voice calm. She needed to get over this. To prove she could handle it. Get stronger and actually be a part of this team. If Emily and Morgan could see this, she could too.

"JJ, you don't have to prove anything." Garcia tried to say. JJ ignored her, and told her to play the video. Maybe she didn't need to prove anything to the team, but she needed to prove it to herself. "Fine, but I'm not watching it." Garcia said as she hit play and left JJ alone in the room. JJ took a deep breath and willed herself not to react as she watched the couple's throats being slit.

* * *

><p>"Its got to be Tobias' personality holding Reid. His father would have stayed and fought." Morgan stated to Emily and Hotch.<p>

"We should see if we can find a place Tobias would go." Emily picked up a journal and handed one to Morgan before flipping through it herself. "Maybe there is something linked to his drug use?" Emily glanced up as JJ entered the room and told Garcia she was done. Curious, but not wanting to pry, Emily kept her focus on the journals. Garcia and Gideon went back into the computer room, leaving the rest of them digging back through the journals. Emily could hear him yelling to get the videos removed from the internet. Secretly, she agreed, but knew it was a virtually impossible task. A few minutes later, Gideon burst out of the room in distress. Sharing a look with Hotch, Emily stood up and ran with the rest of the team into the room. Garcia explained what they just saw and Emily watched in horror at the image of Reid's lifeless body. Glancing over at JJ, Emily had to stop herself from wrapping the blonde up into a tight hug. She looked broken and devastated. Not a second later, Tobias came back into the barn and began performing CPR on Reid. Emily prayed it would work.

Seeing Reid revived, the team almost collectively breathed a sigh of relief as he was pulled back into and upright position on the chair. Emily noticed the time frame on the video and pointed it out to the team.

"Its only a seventeen minute difference from the time of the murder and the time he uploaded it. He's close to the crime scene." Emily stated. Their attention was drawn back to the computer screen as Raphael was back in control interrogating Reid. Emily glanced at Morgan in horror as he told Reid to chose one of the team members to die. Emily heard JJ gasp as he bent down and pointed the gun at Reid's head. Seeing him pull the trigger, Emily clasped her hands together and winced as it clicked. Again, and again, after three empty chambers, Emily let out a breath as Reid chose Hotch. She looked over to Hotch, shocked as Reid called him a classic narcissist who puts himself before the team. He even went so far as to quote Geniuses, 23:4. Hotch ran out of the room and Raphael fired the final shot at the wall, Emily followed the team after Hotch, feeling queasy that the bullet would have gone into Reid's head not a moment before.

"Hotch, he didn't mean it." Morgan started as they stood around him.

"I know, what are my worst qualities?" No one spoke up, unsure of what was going on. Emily could think of a few things, but she wasn't about to voice them.

"You're a bully." JJ said bravely. Emily almost smiled, feeling proud of her for going first.

"You can be a drill sergeant." Morgan admitted.

"You don't trust women as much as men." Emily added quickly.

"Those are all true, but I'm not a narcissist and I've never put myself above the team. It was a clue, he's trying to tell us something." Hotch began flipping through the Bible. "Its about cemeteries, not about character. Reid wouldn't make a mistake like that."

"Garcia, play what he said earlier, about poaching." Gideon told her. As they listened to Reid giving them clues Emily remembered something she read about Tobias in the journals.

"He said something about wanting to stay clean and stay out of Marshall." She said quickly. Garcia ran a search and found a cemetery at an old plantation on the map. Emily ran with the rest of the team as they donned their kevlar vests and drove as fast as they could to the site. Emily was seated in the back next to JJ. Not thinking about it, Emily reached over and took her hand in her own, giving it a reassuring squeeze. As she was about to pull her hand back, JJ gripped it tightly and Emily left it where it was for the duration of the drive.

The second they pulled the cars to a stop, Emily and the team jumped out, drew their guns and made their way inside the cabin. Finding only the camera, laptop and bindings, Emily wanted to kick something.

"They're on foot, spread out." Hotch ordered. Emily ran after Morgan determined to find Reid. Hearing a gunshot, Emily and Hotch ran forward at the sight of Reid and Tobias on the ground. Helping Hotch, Emily bent down to grab hold of one of Reid's sides, gently pulling him upwards. He turned and embraced Hotch, telling him that he knew he would understand his clues. Emily backed away slightly, giving JJ room to run over and hug Reid hard.

"I'm sorry." She said.

"It wasn't your fault JJ." Reid reassured her. Emily watched on as JJ exchanged a look with Morgan. She was glad that he seemed to have stopped blaming her. Emily followed Gideon and Hotch back to the cars as Reid asked for a minute alone. The ambulance was pulling up and Emily couldn't wait to get on the jet and home to her own bed. She climbed back into the car and rested her head against the window. A minute later she heard the door open. Looking up, she caught JJ's eye and returned the small smile the blonde gave her.

"He's okay." JJ said, breathing a sigh of relief. Emily could hear the smile in her voice. She turned her head over to JJ, still leaning back against the seat.

"Yes he is."

"A lot of that is thanks to you." JJ told her. Emily frowned, confused. Sure, she had worked hard, but Hotch had figured out the clues, she had just been doing her job. "You figured out the time frame, you made the connection to Marshall, and you're the only one who didn't blame me for us splitting up."

"JJ, it wasn't your fault."

"I know, but your the only one who thinks that. Your the only one who got me working, you didn't treat me like I was weak, or less of the team. I just wanted to thank you for that." JJ reached over and grabbed Emily's hand in a similar fashion as she had done earlier.

"Anytime JJ." Emily said with a tired smile. "Anytime."


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you guys for the reviews! They make my day. This one is a little short, I'm adding a little twist with Will to get our ladies moving, I hope you continue to enjoy:)**

The weeks and cases went by quickly. Emily could sense a change in Reid. The gangly boy had been friendly and someone Emily enjoyed being with previously; ever since she asked him what was wrong, he barely looked at her. Unless forced by Hotch to be partnered with Emily, he avoided her like the plague. Emily took it in stride and made sure she didn't let anyone notice how much it hurt her. If nothing else, it made her remember that these people were her coworkers and not her friends. After admitting to JJ that she was attracted to women, Emily had avoided her as much as she could. Emily knew she was attracted to the blonde communications liaison. Thinking she had been straight had been the perfect excuse for her to ignore it, now her only reason was they worked together. Emily believed in not getting into romantic relationships in work. More so now after everything that had happened with Doyle. Distancing herself from JJ was the only thing she could think off.

Her mother had been calling her recently trying to set her up on a date with one of her diplomat friend's son. He was a kid Emily had known – and mostly hated – as a child. Emily had been avoiding her calls as much as she could. Using their new case in New Orleans as an excuse to get off of the phone, Emily ran to the jet.

"I've got to go Mother." Emily said hanging the phone up and plopping down next to Morgan. Emily had sort of called him out on blaming JJ after the case with Hankel. Morgan had been pissed initially, but after Emily yelled at him, he had gone and apologized – more than once – to JJ. Since then, she and Morgan had grown closer; something Emily was grateful for now that Reid was angry with her and she was trying to avoid JJ. Even though she had been working at the BAU for months now, Hotch still wasn't happy about her being there, and Gideon was a confusing man to know exactly where you stood. Emily respected him and according to Morgan, she would know if he didn't approve of her.

"Mother huh?" Morgan said to her with a grin. "Famous Ambassador Prentiss?"

"That would be her." Emily answered back shortly as she dug out her file and began flipping through it. A piece of paper slipped out of her folder and onto the floor. Emily went to grab it, but JJ beat her to it. Handing it back to her with a bright smile JJ then sat down across from Emily. "Thanks." Emily said softly, trying to control her voice. She glanced back down to the file and did her best to ignore JJ's gaze. Just because JJ was interested in women, didn't mean she was interested in Emily.

Arriving at the scene Emily smiled at the lead detective and got down to business. Will LaMontange had that southern charm that Emily remembered from when she spent time there for a while as a child. If Emily didn't know any better, she would think that he was flirting with her. While the timing and place was odd, Emily couldn't help but be flattered a little. As she smiled and answered a question he asked her, JJ placed herself in between them and began asking the detective about the case. He went along with her, leaving Emily and Morgan at the crime scene.

* * *

><p>JJ did not like this redneck cocky bastard of a detective one little bit. The second they arrived at the scene, he began flirting with Emily, and as soon as they left he began flirting with JJ. She wanted nothing more than to yell at him, but she kept it professional and worked around it. As he continued to flirt – and then drink – JJ finally put an end to it.<p>

"Detective LaMontange, I'm gay." She said as she flipped through the file again. "Also, isn't it a little early for that?"

"This is New Orleans, its never really too early, and that is a damn shame, pretty girl like you?"

"Yeah, well..."

"Damn shame."

"Yes, you mentioned that, how about we focus on the case?"

"Sure, sure."

They continued working alone for a few more minutes before rejoining the team. JJ couldn't help but notice that Will placed himself right next to Emily. As Hotch pulled her over to talk, JJ kept glancing over at them every chance she got. Emily was laughing with Will and Morgan and as he leaned in and touched her arm, JJ felt like grabbing her gun.

The team headed to the hotel for the evening, which only had a few rooms open. Hotch and Gideon shared, Morgan and Reid took the other, and JJ and Emily headed off to theirs. As the night had worn on, Will and Emily had worked together more than once, and every time JJ saw them she got further annoyed. To top it off, Emily had been avoiding her for weeks. They dragged themselves into the room, beyond tired. Emily dropped her bag and asked if JJ wouldn't mind her using the bathroom first. Shaking her head JJ caught herself watching Emily walk away, she really knew how to wear a pantsuit. As Emily shut the door JJ quickly changed into a tank top and some cotton shorts. A second later, Emily came out of the bathroom clad in a baggy _Star Wars_ t-shirt and nothing else. JJ sucked in her breath and made sure not to make eye contact with her as she headed into the bathroom. _Goddamn, she has fantastic legs_. JJ thought as she stood over the sink calming herself down. JJ had never been interested in nerds before, but she found everything Emily did adorable, and very, very, hot. Brushing her teeth and washing her face, JJ headed back out to their room. Emily was already in her bed, a book in her lap and didn't glance up to look at her. Pretending not to be hurt at Emily's insistence to avoid her, JJ climbed into bed and got comfortable. JJ couldn't figure out why Emily was avoiding her. The only thing she could come up with, was that Emily had noticed JJ checking her out and was uncomfortable with it. Cursing herself, JJ knew she would have to get herself under control.

"Do you mind if I read for a few minutes? It helps me take my mind off the case and fall asleep."

"No problem." JJ answered back. Emily's phone buzzed and looking at the message, she groaned. "Is it about the case?" JJ asked sitting up a little.

"No." Emily set the phone down without answering the message. "My mother." She said with a strained voice. "She won't stop calling."

"What does she want?"

"To set me up on a date, what else?"

From the tone in her voice and the way Emily threw the book aside, JJ could tell this was a regular annoyance in Emily's life. Mimicking Emily's position, JJ turned and faced her. "She does that a lot?"

"Every chance she gets. Her greatest hope would be for me to quit the bureau, join her in politics, marry some well-to-do man and have babies."

"Haha, yeah, my mom used to think like that too. She hates my job, the danger aspect, she's proud, but she worries. All she wants are grandkids, she is after me all the time to get married and start a family. I've told her a million times I'm not really sure I'm the marrying and kids type."

"Really? You don't want kids?" Emily asked.

"I don't think I would make a very good mother."

"Seriously? JJ, I've seen you with kids, you're great!"

Sheepishly JJ smiled into her blanket a little. She liked kids, she just wasn't sure she would be very good with one every day and JJ would never want to do it alone. She couldn't see herself with one woman for the rest of her life, commitment wasn't really her thing, so kids had pretty much been ruled out.

"I don't know. What about you?"

"I think I'd like to get married and have kids someday, I just never found the right person. Our job doesn't exactly make it easy." Emily added with a laugh.

"Yeah, that's for sure." Emily shifted herself on her bed and JJ bit her lip while she watched her. Emily was definitely not wearing a bra. "Will seemed to like you." She said with a tight voice.

"Its not very professional, flirting during a murder investigation." Emily scoffed. "But he seems like a nice guy I guess."

"Yeah, real nice." JJ said sarcastically. _Flirts with you, then the second your out of the room flirts with me. Finds out I'm gay, back to you. Real charming fucker._ JJ thought as they turned out the lights and went to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Emily tried to get some sleep on the plane ride home. It didn't work. Sharing a room with JJ throughout the case had been trying and awkward. It didn't help that JJ apparently slept in very little clothing. Frusturated, and as an attempt to get JJ out of her mind, Emily had accepted Will's business card and gave him her number when asked. If nothing else came out of it, she could at least truthfully tell her mother she'd had some sort of romantic interaction with a man. As they boarded the plane, Emily had avoided JJ's gaze and sat herself next to Morgan.

"Hey Princess." He greeted her with a devilish grin. Internally, Emily groaned. He had seen her giving Will her number as they left. She was sure that he was going to tease her for it. She and Morgan had grown closer over the last few cases. He said that he respected her after she chewed him out about blaming JJ and once he knew she loved Vonnegut as well, she was alright in his book.

"Don't start." She warned.

"I didn't say a thing." Morgan said holding his hands up in defense.

"Say anything about what?" Reid asked from the center of the plane.

"Prentiss here is hot for LaMontange." Morgan teased. Emily kept her gaze down to her lap and gave Morgan a swift kick in the legs. "OUCH! Prentiss!" Morgan yelled holding his leg as Hotch and Gideon sat down. "JJ!" Morgan whined. "Emily kicked me!"

"What do you want me to do about it?" JJ practically growled from next to Reid. The venom in her voice caused Emily to whip her head up. JJ looked pissed. Before Emily could ask her what was wrong, her demeanor changed as quickly as it had come on. Emily thought perhaps she had imagined the glare JJ had given her and looked back down.

"I want you to hit her back! Or yell, or something!" Morgan whined, oblivious to JJ's attitude.

"Well, sorry. Your gonna have to hit her back all by yourself."

"No hitting." Hotch chided without looking up from his file, just as Morgan had raised his hand preparing to smack Emily. Smirking at him, she leaned back and got comfortable.

"I'll get you back later." Morgan whispered.

"Just you try." She whispered back with a grin.

* * *

><p>JJ wanted to vomit. Or punch someone. Punching would make her feel better, definitely if it was Emily, even more so if it was Will. The two of them had spent the rest of the case lightly flirting, and then JJ had seen her give him her number as they were leaving. JJ couldn't help but feel like someone had wound up and punched her in the gut. Standing next to Hotch, she did what she could to stifle her gasp and stop herself from tearing up. Hearing Morgan tease her about Will had been almost more than she could take. After Hotch had yelled at him, he caught JJ's eye and she would be lying if she said the look in his eyes didn't scare her.<p>

JJ had gone home and passed out on her couch. She had every intention of going out, but was just too damn tired. As she went back into work the next few days, she avoided everyone, not just Emily. The second she walked in, she would head straight for her office and stay in there all day.

Six days after the case, Garcia burst into JJ's office without knocking around noon.

"This crap is over!" She exclaimed.

"Excuse me?" JJ asked from behind her desk. She had been in the middle of a particularly horrible file. Arson cases always bothered her.

"You, being all hermity, I dislike it and it ends now. Get up!"

"Garcia..." JJ started to protest.

"No. I don't want to hear it, well I do but not right now. Up! Get you blonde butt up and your coat on, we are going out to lunch."

"Garcia I have to..."

"Jennifer Jareau get your ass out of that chair before I make you."

JJ knew better than to try and reason with Garcia when she was like this, and she had honestly missed her friend. She needed someone to talk to, not to mention, she was starving. "Fine." She feigned annoyance. "I'm coming."

"Good."

"Where are we going?"

"Deli around the corner." Garcia waited until they were out of the bureau – noticing JJ's refusal to look at Emily's desk as they walked out – had ordered their food and were seated before grilling JJ. "So?" She asked coyly.

JJ sighed, unsure where to begin. "So...what?"

"Jayje, come on out with it! What's bothering you? You've been testy for weeks now, but its gotten worse since our last case."

"I haven't been testy." JJ protested.

"Seriously?"

JJ groaned and dropped her head into her hands on the table. "I like her" She mumbled.

"Come again?"

"I like her."

"What? Jayje, speak up!"

JJ lifted her head and yelled. "I LIKE HER!"

"Jezz, Jayje, tell the whole fracking restaurant!" Garcia said as most of the customers stared at them. JJ just groaned and smacked her head back down. "And which 'her' are we speaking of? A certain raven haired her?"

JJ nodded awkwardly with her head still down in her hands. "And just say fuck. Frack is not a word."

"What? Sweetie, lift your head up."

"Say fuck, not frack."

"I like frack better I can say it if I want! And don't change the subject. You like Emily!"

"Shut up!" JJ hissed as she looked around the deli. Lots of people from the bureau ate there, she didn't want her personal life to become office gossip.

"Okay, are we talking like as in you want to go on multiple dates with her? Or like as in you want her in your bed? Because there is a difference. A one night stand would make things a little awkward for a while, but ultimately, you could get over that pretty easily; if you guys date however..."

"I know!" JJ moaned and dropped her head back in her hands.

"Wait! Seriously! You want to date her? Holy fucking shit!"

"Garcia!" JJ chided, whipping her head up. "You...you don't usually swear like that."

"You don't usually form actual emotional connections to women! Not longer than a few hours anyway this is fucking huge!"

"Garcia shut up." JJ hissed.

"Oh please, don't even try to deny it now. You like her like her, you want her in you bed, but you also just want to hold her hand! Oh JJ this is so adorable! When are you gonna ask her out?"

"I'm not."

"What? Why not?"

"She's not interested Garcia."

"What! What makes you think that? Have you seen how she looks at you?"

"Garcia, I think she's dating LaMontange.

"Bullshit." Garcia protested. JJ just shrugged and sipped her coffee. "Bullshit." Garcia repeated, more to herself than JJ. "You know what? I'll get back to you." Garcia grabbed the rest of her sandwich and purse and stood up.

"Woah, wait where are you going?"

"Recon, talk to you later."

"Recon? Wait Garcia no!"

"Bye Jayje." Garcia said placing a kiss on her head and running out of the deli.

"Fuck." JJ whispered to herself.

* * *

><p>Emily's stomach groaned for the millionth time. Shoving her paperwork away, she leaned back in her seat. If was definitely time to get some lunch. She was sure she had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich stashed in the break room somewhere. Just as she was about to go look for it, Garcia sprinted – as much as someone can sprint in bright green heels – towards Emily.<p>

"Hey!" She squealed. "Want to go get lunch?"

"I think I've got a sandwich in..."

"Eww, nonsense. There is a great cafe like three block from here, come on." Garcia linked her arm with Emily's and pulled her forward before Emily could make any protests. As they left the bullpen, the two women passed JJ coming back in. Emily glanced down and then kept her gaze forward. She was hoping that Garcia would be oblivious to her reaction. "Bye Jayje!" Garcia called out cheerfully. Emily didn't notice the death glare JJ gave Garcia, or the smirk she gave back as she pulled Emily along to the elevator. "So, you've been quiet lately." Garcia stated as soon as the doors closed them in. Their arms still linked, Emily shifted her weight slightly and sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"I was informed by a certain man that you are infatuated with a southern gentleman, is that correct?"

Emily shook her head slightly and held back a grin. "I'm gonna kill Morgan." She said with a laugh.

"So its true!"

"No! Well, I don't know. He's called me twice."

"Really? And?"

"And nothing. He lives in New Orleans and.." Emily faltered slightly, trying to think up another excuse.

"And..." Garcia prompted.

Emily sighed. "I don't know."

"Do you like him?"

"Yeah I guess, he's a nice guy."

"Yeah, but do you like him?"

"I don't know. I don't really know him yet."

"Yet? You intend on getting to know him?"

"I don't know Garcia." Emily groaned as they arrived at the cafe. The two women ordered – only coffee for Garcia – and sat down. Garcia seemed to wait for a moment or two, contemplating on what to ask Emily next. Or how exactly to ask her something, the look on her face worried Emily.

"Is there someone else you like more?" She finally asked.

"I don't know." Emily answered, half truthfully.

"You don't know?" The coy tone of her voice frightened Emily. "Someone on the team perhaps? Not my chocolate god!"

"God no!" Emily laughed.

"Good." Garcia said, laughing along with Emily. "Not Boy Wonder?" Emily shook her head violently. "Not Gideon?" Garcia asked, practically gagging.

"Not at all." Emily stated firmly.

"Boss man?"

"Hotch?" Emily asked. Garcia nodded. "No. No. I do _not_ like Hotch."

"Well, that only leaves one left, a certain blonde, unless its me; in which case I'm flattered, but only into men."

Emily laughed along with Garcia and finished her sandwich, she had been starving. "No, its not you Garcia." Wiping her mouth, she froze as she realized she didn't deny them both.

"So its JJ?" Garcia squealed. "You like JJ!"

"Shush." Emily warned. "I don't...no..I.."

"Oh my god! You and JJ are gonna get married and have babies and I am gonna be the greatest aunt in the world!"

"Holy shit Garcia, don't you think your jumping the gun a little?"

Garcia only shrugged and took Emily's hand as they went up to pay. "You like her though right?"

Sighing, Emily answered her. "Yeah, but it doesn't matter."

"Why not?"

"We're not gonna date Garcia."

"Why not?"

"We work together! And she's not interested, I don't think she even really likes me anymore. I'm not sure what I did, but she acts like she's angry at me or something."

Garcia snorted. "Just ask her out."

"No. Garcia, even if she were interested we work together. There is a reason that office romances are frowned upon."

"Oh who cares! Those rules aren't really enforced, and as long as you can work together, no one will care."

"Really? Hotch won't care? Strauss won't care?" Emily asked, sarcastically as they made their way back to the bureau.

"Well, Boss man will get over it as long as it doesn't effect our work, he's actually quite a softy somewhere in there; and Strauss...we could get around her."

It was Emily's turn to snort. "Yeah, I'm sure that will go over well. Look Garcia, its just a crush, I'll get over it. Please don't say anything to anyone."

"Yeah, yeah. You're wrong, but yeah."

Emily said goodbye to Garcia and headed back to her desk. She could have sworn she saw JJ turn away from looking at her desk. _Get yourself together Prentiss. _She thought as she sat down and got back to work.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you so much for all of the reviews, they make me grin like an idiot. I hope you continue to enjoy:) **

Garcia was a woman on a mission. Her two best friends were being thick headed and just plain dumb. She was sick of seeing them lonely and sad, and it needed to be over. The problem was, Garcia wasn't quite sure how to go about making them realize they both liked each other. Her only idea so far was to just blurt it out, but she couldn't betray their confidence in her like that. What she needed were minions to help.

"Derek Morgan! I need you pronto, bring Boy Wonder." Garcia hung up the phone and immediately went back to pacing her office. Not two minutes later – which felt like years to Garcia – Morgan and Reid walked in, baffled at what was going on. Garcia didn't even give them a second to speak before jumping in. "So, we need to fix this. I am sad they are sad. I don't like my friends sad. Their sadness makes me sad, and angry. I am not fun to be around when I'm angry, so if I'm sad and angry, _you_ will be sad and angry. Do you see my problem here?"

Morgan and Reid appeared utterly confused. "Baby Girl, I...I have no idea what you just said."

"I'm also very confused right now." Reid sputtered out.

"I will scream." Garcia warned.

"Baby Girl, don't scream." Morgan said with a laugh. "Just tell us what is going on."

"How do you not know! You're profilers. Its your jobs to notice things like this."

"I...you gonna have to give us some sort of clue."

"I can't!" Garcia whined as she flopped down in her chair. "I can't say without breaking trust. You could guess! That's it, you have to guess."

"Guess what? We don't have any clue what your talking about." Reid stated.

"For a genius, kid you are dumb."

"Garcia!" Reid protested while Morgan just chuckled to himself.

"He's right Baby Girl, you gotta give us some sort of hint."

"Pay more attention to the women on our team!" Garcia yelled. "And get out of my office!" With that, she shoved the boys out and slammed the door. "Useless, no help at all." She muttered to herself.

* * *

><p>Emily looked up from her paperwork and caught Reid staring at her for the third time that morning. Frowning at him, she got up to refill her coffee cup. He watched her the entire way to the break room.<p>

"What the hell is up with Reid?" Emily asked Hotch.

Hotch stepped away from the coffee pot letting Emily get a cup and looked back at Reid. Quickly – and very obviously – Reid looked away. "I'm not sure." Hotch said watching Reid squirm under his gaze. As annoying and confusing it was, it was also highly amusing. "Your mother is in my office." Hotch spoke calmly to Emily. The change in her demeanor was immediate. She almost spat out her coffee, stood up straight, shook her hair back out of her face, and tried to remain clam.

"I'm sorry what? My mother? My mother is in your office?" Hotch nodded. "Why?"

"She wants our help on a case. A man was kidnapped by what she believes to be the russian mob."

"Wha...okay."

"I wanted to warn you before I informed the rest of the team."

"Yeah, thanks."

Emily followed Hotch begrudgingly out of the break room and avoided the teams gaze as Hotch informed them of the case. She felt every one of their eyes on her at the mention of Ambassador Prentiss, none more so than JJ's. Emily stood up straight and ignored it as best she could. If nothing else, she was used to getting attention at the mention of her mother. She hated it, but it was familiar territory.

Her russian was terrible. God, how is it that she forgot so much when she could easily pick up other languages. Her mother was nearly perfect in russian, a fact that she reminded Emily of more than once. Emily could feel JJ's gaze on her as she spoke to her mother. She couldn't tell which was more awkward, both women made her feel like hiding in a broom closet.

"Emily am I boring you?" Her mother asked.

"What? No Mother, not at all."

"Then what exactly is your problem?"

"I..nothing."

"Emily Elizabeth Prentiss, do not lie to me. I may not have been the most fantastic mother in the world, but I can sure as hell tell when you are lying to me."

"Its...its nothing Mother, lets just focus on this case. There is a man's life at stake."

"I am going to expect you to tell me what is going on eventually. Does it have to do with that southern detective?"

"I..." Emily just wanted to get her mother off her back. Before she even realized she had said it, the words were out of her mouth. "Yes actually. I'm going on a date with him."

"You're what!" She heard a shocked and angry voice from behind her. Turning, she met the eyes she had been working so hard to avoid for weeks now. JJ looked furious, then quickly mashed her lips together and informed them Morgan had found something and stalked away.

"She's an interesting one." Ambassador Prentiss commented as her daughter looked on horrified after JJ.

* * *

><p>"Ambassador and Agent Prentiss are on their way Hotch." JJ spat out as she opened his door, then turned to leave.<p>

"JJ! Wait." Hotch stopped her. Huffing JJ paused, holding the door open impatiently. "Are you alright?"

"What? I'm...yeah Hotch I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine."

"Well...I am."

"JJ, if you need to talk you can come to me, even if its personal. Whatever it is that's going on between you and Emily needs to be worked out and soon."

"What? Hotch I..."

"JJ, I've been a profiler for a long time, and I've known you for years, while its not technically my business what you do when you leave this office, so long as it doesn't interfere with your work, I do care about you. I've noticed how tense things have become between the two of you."

"Hotch..."

"JJ, for gods sake ask her out."

Completely and utterly baffled JJ just stood staring at Hotch with her mouth open. "I...umm..." She had absolutely no idea how to respond to that.

"I've got a pretty strong feeling she'll say yes, and if not, it may be awkward for a while, but at least you'll have tried."

"Hotch aren't there rules about..."

"Interoffice relationships?" Hotch asked. JJ nodded. "Technically, but as long as you two could work together, I don't really see a problem with it."

"She's dating LaMontange." JJ admitted, almost tearing up.

"How do you know?"

"I just heard her tell her mother."

"Have you spoken to Ambassador Prentiss yet at all?"

"Not really."

"Well, I've known her for years, it could easily be a ruse, if its not, well then its her loss."

Tearing up a little, JJ smiled. "Thanks Hotch that...it means a lot."

"Anytime JJ." Hotch gave her a rare smile and a moment to get herself together before heading over to the conference room to meet the team. _Shit_. JJ thought. _I must really fucking like her._ Straightening her shoulders, checking to make sure her face wasn't red, JJ plastered on a brave front and walked out.


	7. Chapter 7

Emily looked up and caught Reid watching her yet again. She was utterly confused, the boy had been short with her for weeks and now all he ever did was look at her as if she were a puzzle he was trying to solve. The only times he wasn't watching her, he was watching JJ or focused on the case at hand. It was becoming a little creepy.

"Reid, do you need something?" Emily asked softly. She didn't like having him angry with her, and he did seem to be doing better recently.

"Oh, no I'm fine." Reid answered her, flustered.

"Okay..." Emily reached down as her phone rang and groaned a little seeing who it was. She had been avoiding his calls for days – since her mother had been here – but she felt bad about it. "Hello." She answered. Emily could feel Reid and Morgan watching her intently and she stood up and walked into the break room for some privacy.

"How're you?"

"I'm fine Will, how are you?"

"Good. I've got a few days off, I was thinking maybe I'd head up to DC. Finally take you out?"

Emily sighed. She really didn't have much of an interest in Will. Since telling her mother she was sort of dating him, she had answered his calls more often, but nothing about the man made her feel anything. He was a nice guy, but truthfully a bit boring and his cocky attitude got to her sometimes. Regardless, Emily was lonely, and maybe he was just what she needed to get over her feelings for JJ. It would make her mother ecstatic, and secretly, Emily still wanted her approval, no matter how much she tried to deny it.

"Well, we don't have a case right now, but that could change any minute."

"Well, I'll book a flight right now. Be there in a few days?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Great, see ya later."

"Bye Will."

Emily hung up the phone and realized she felt absolutely no excitement about the prospect of a date. She sort of hated dating in general, she always got nervous and said the wrong thing. The idea of sitting at a dinner and listening to Will drone on and on made her desperately wish they got a case so she could cancel. At least then she could say she tried and still get out of it.

"Will?" An annoyed voice asked from behind her.

Emily sighed again. "Garcia, don't start." She said, turning to face her friend. Garcia had been vehemently against Will since learning he called Emily frequently.

"Really Em? You're gonna date him now? What about JJ?"

"What about her Garcia? She practically hates me, she certainly isn't interested in dating me."

"She doesn't hate you..."

Emily cut her off, "she hasn't spoken more than two words to me unless it was related to a case in days. Garcia, I don't know about you, but thats not generally how I treat people I'm interested in. Definitely not friends or coworkers either. She hates me and I don't know what I did, but I'm lonely." Emily admitted. Garcia's expression quickly softened and she moved forward to comfort her friend.

"I know sweetie, maybe if you just..."

"No! I'm going on a date with Will. Leave it alone." And with that Emily stalked back to her desk to get her work done. If they didn't get a case, she wanted to actually have some free time to mentally prepare herself for this date.

* * *

><p>Garcia burst into JJ's office without knocking. "You have got to pull your head out of your ass woman!" She yelled. "Oh." She paused noticing a man sitting across from JJ's desk. "You are someone I don't know. I apologize, I didn't know you were in a meeting." Sheepishly, Garcia looked down as the man bid JJ goodbye and left. "Shit, sorry Jayje."<p>

"Garcia! Knock much?"

"I said sorry, now listen to me, there are more important matters at hand."

"More important then a possible case?"

"Way more!"

"Garcia."

"Well, okay people dying is very important, but your love life tops it just slightly at the moment."

"Don't start.." JJ warned as she shifted through her files.

"She thinks you hate her."

"I kind of do."

"JJ!" Garcia yelled. JJ sighed and dropped the files on top of her desk. She held her head in her hands in frustration and groaned loudly. Garcia calmly sat down in the seat the man had recently vacated and waited for JJ to continue quietly. When after a moment or two, she didn't say anything, Garcia softly spoke up. "JJ, I know you don't actually hate her. You're hurting, but if you don't man up and ask her out, she is going to go on a date with Will."

"She's already dating him." JJ moaned.

"No, actually she's not. She said that to get her mother off her back, she's going on a date with him soon unless you do something about it."

"What am I supposed to do about it?"

"Jennifer Jareau, quit acting like a coward and ask her out. I mean my god, even Reid can tell you like her now!"

"What?"

Garcia stood up and walked to the doorway. "JJ, its your life, but I can tell your sad and you don't have to be." And with that Garcia left JJ to her thoughts. She had done all she could, it was up to JJ and Emily now. Garcia decided she wasn't above finding some way to stall Emily's date with Will either however and headed back down to her lair.

* * *

><p>JJ followed Reid and Emily into Gideon's apartment. She felt her gag reflex start up as she looked on at the blood spattered room and what was left of Sarah's body. Stepping back slightly, she bumped into Emily. "Sorry." She mumbled.<p>

"Its okay JJ." Emily said catching her. JJ felt her body tense up as Emily's hands held her upright. Stepping away from her touch she gave Emily a tight smile of thanks and pulled on some gloves; willing herself to get it together. At Hotch's insistence, she took out her cell phone and began taking as many photos to send to Garcia as she could. Swallowing down her nausea, JJ caught herself glancing at Emily more than once. The brunette was definitely affected, but she was much better at hiding it. Somehow, having Emily in the room as well calmed JJ down a little bit. Both women finished up and followed Hotch out of the room. On Hotch's orders, Emily and Morgan went outside to look for Gideon. Standing next to Reid, JJ found herself shuffling her feet a little to keep moving around.

"Hotch knows where Gideon is." Reid said as they watched Hotch and the cops talking.

"Is he okay?"

"Someone he loved was just murdered."

"I meant physically."

"I think so." JJ and Reid stood still waiting for something to do. JJ just wanted to be out of this apartment now. After a minute, Reid finally turned and looked at her. "People die JJ." He stated.

"Reid, I'm very aware of that." JJ answered, confused.

"No, I mean..." Reid licked his lips and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to come up with the right words to say. JJ watched him, baffled and uncomfortable. "At any time, one of us could die, but in our job the odds of that are much greater."

"Reid, if your trying to freak me out, you're going a great job."

"No, that's not...what I'm trying to say is...life is too short to let yourself be sad when you know there is a way to fix it."

"Reid...are you?.."

He cut her off. "I'm not as oblivious as everyone thinks, if _I've_ noticed something then its definitely there. She won't make the first move, its your choice. But...I want you to be happy, both of you."

Before JJ could say anything, Hotch got their attention and they followed him outside. Walking over to Morgan and Emily, JJ took a deep breath. More than half of her team had told her to ask Emily out in the last few days, JJ was a little on edge.

"Frank doesn't have Jane anymore. He thinks we have her." Emily told the group as they approached them.

JJ headed back to the bureau to look over the photos she had sent Garcia. She noticed torn notebook paper with numbers on it in some of them. Confused she pulled out her phone to tell the team. She was about to dial Hotch's number, but then hesitated. Pausing for a second to think about it, JJ dialed the phone and felt her heart beat faster as it rang.

"JJ?" Emily's voice answered.

"Hey." JJ said softly. She wanted nothing more than to keep Emily on the line, but she was still unsure of what her exact feelings were and this was neither the time, nor the place. Refocusing on the case, she told Emily about the notebook. In the background, JJ heard Emily relaying the information to the team. Reid recognized it as Gideon's Murder Book; a list of all the people he's saved, including names, dates, times, everything, and Frank had it. God, JJ hated this man.

"JJ, start warning any of the victims who live close by, and make sure that if anyone finds Jane, we are the first to speak with her. She's the only one who knows where Frank is." Hotch ordered her. She hung up the phone and got to work. She could worry about Emily later. Getting photographs from Gideon's office, she compiled them in the conference room for a list of possible suspects.

The rest of the team arrived and JJ couldn't help but curse herself as her gaze went immediately to Emily. She and Reid were carrying files, nine people they had narrowed down to probable victims for Frank. JJ picked up the phone and dialed Rebecca Bryant's phone number.

"Rebecca, This is Agent Jareau from the Behavioral Analysis Unit, there is a possibility that your life may be in danger, we need you too..."

"He's not Agent Gideon is he?" The girl asked cutting JJ off. She looked up horrified and caught Emily's similar gaze.

"Rebecca, this is Agent Hotchner, calmly excuse yourself and get out of the house." JJ and the team waited in anticipation for her to answer, instead, Frank picked up the phone. JJ found herself cringing at his voice. "Frank, we don't have Jane." Hotch insisted calmly.

"I will not stop until I have her back." Frank said, then hung up the phone.

"Lets go." Hotch ordered, and they began leaving in a rush. JJ watched as Emily ran out after Morgan, with one glance back at her. Sighing, she flopped down into one of the seats. Today definitely sucked. Before JJ even had a second, her phone rang. Answering it, JJ learned that Jane had been picked up by the police and had assaulted several officers, demanding to speak to the BAU. She called Hotch and relayed the information. She couldn't help but feel a slight catch in her stomach when she heard Hotch tell Emily and Reid to head back to get Jane. "JJ, Prentiss found a note in Rebecca's hand, there is someone we've missed. Go back through the files again, look deeper."

"Okay." JJ hung up the phone and reached out to grab the files. She opened one and began reading, scoping every last detail again and again. Her eyes were screaming at her, she had gone over everything. Pausing a second on one file, she realized what they had missed; Tracy Belle and her family had recently moved into the Virginia area. JJ quickly called Hotch and told him she was the next victim. On his orders, she went to gather Jane's belongings and help Emily and Reid.

JJ entered the room as Jane lit a cigarette. With a glance at Emily, she handed over the brown paper bag to Jane then moved to stand over by the wall. For some reason, Jane made her very uncomfortable, she knew that wasn't the case with Emily. Somehow, Emily had sympathy for this woman. JJ knew she should, nothing that happened to her was her fault, but it just disgusted her that she could love someone like Frank, crazy or not. JJ looked up as Hotch entered the room and stood near JJ. Jane finally sat down, clutching her bag and smoking her cigarette.

"Did Frank hurt anyone else? I don't think he will, since he has me." Jane said sifting in her seat.

"He doesn't have you, we do." JJ explained to her.

"Jane, what changed to make you leave Frank?" Emily asked softly.

"He changed, just like Agent Gideon said he would. He's angry because Agent Gideon was right all along."

"Jane, does Frank want to be stopped?" Hotch asked her.

"If anyone can stop him, Agent Gideon can." JJ listened on, her arms crossed, leaning back against the wall as Jane explained what she knew about Frank. How he was from Manhattan, talked about his mother all the time, never knew his father, JJ couldn't see how she could love Frank. Emily and Hotch were gentle with her, Emily more so. JJ watched as Jane became distraught at the notion of Frank hurting anyone else because of her.

"You don't chose who you fall in love with." Emily reassured her. JJ noticed her glance very quickly at JJ as she said it and JJ decided right then and there, Emily was not going on a date with Will if she had anything to say about it. In fact, if Jane and Hotch weren't both in the room, she might have pulled Emily into a kiss right now. JJ could feel Hotch glance at her at Emily's words as well, and she sifted slightly, uncomfortable under his gaze.

Donning her kevlar vest, JJ walked up to Reid and poked him in the chest. "No matter what happens this time, we don't split up, clear?"

"Crystal clear." He said with a little smirk. Shaking her head, JJ held her gun out and followed the police officers to clear the apartment. Bursting into the bedroom, JJ frowned at the sight of a corpse in the bed. Hearing a noise coming from the closet, she and Reid turned to it and drew their guns. Nodding to Reid, JJ opened it quickly and sighed with relief, instantly lowering her gun at the sight of Tracy. She was okay. JJ reached out and calmed the girl down, thankful that this was finally over.

* * *

><p>Emily felt nauseated as she watched Jane jump in front of the train with Frank. She didn't know what it was about her, but she felt some sort of sympathy. At least this was over, she could go home, take a long, very hot bath and there was that date with Will to look forward to. Sighing, she followed the rest of the team back to the BAU. As they gathered their things, Morgan and Reid were goofing off. Emily watched on, laughing as Morgan chucked a ball at Reid, and to everyone's surprise, he caught it. Sharing an amused look with JJ, Emily walked up the steps – feeling JJ following behind her – and up to the offices. Strauss had asked to speak with her. Emily was dreading it, she didn't know exactly what it was about the woman – she figured it had something to do with her ambition reminding Emily of her mother – but she disliked her. Emily didn't know what to make of JJ anymore. For weeks, it had felt like JJ hated her, avoided her at all costs, made it clear she didn't want Emily around. Since this case had begun however, there had been a shift in her attitude. Emily was just plain confused and tired.<p>

Entering Strauss' office, Emily sat down in the chair across from her desk. She hoped this wouldn't take too long, everyone besides Hotch had already headed home.

"Your team is in trouble. I believe they are reckless, and at times, out of control. Its time for Agent Hotchner's career to end, and you are going to help me do so."

Shocked, Emily barely heard anything else the woman said to her. She was furious to know that she _had_ been hired at the BAU because of her family connections. As Emily gathered her things and walked out to her car, her mind was going a mile a minute. She kept thinking of Jane, of what Strauss wanted her to do, and as always, of JJ. As she stepped into her apartment, her phone rang. Emily almost dropped her bag trying to find it.

"Hello?" She asked without looking at the caller id.

"Emily?" Will's southern accent greeted her. "I was just checkin' in. Are we still on for tomorrow night? I know you had a case?"

"Umm..." Just as Emily was about to answer, her phone beeped with call waiting. It was JJ. "Will, actually, can I call you back?" Before he could answer, Emily hung up on him and switched the lines. "Hello?"

"Emily? Hi...umm..its JJ."

"Yeah." Emily gave a tiny laugh. "I got that from the caller id."

"Oh, right."

Both women were silent for a few seconds. Emily bit her lip and began pacing her kitchen slightly in nervousness. "JJ?" Emily prompted after a few moments of silence.

"I was wondering if you were okay. I know you felt some sort of connection with Jane, I just...I wanted to know if you were okay."

"Oh...uh, yeah I'm fine. I mean, this case sucked." Emily laughed heartlessly. "But, I'm good. Are you okay?"

"I've certainly been better."

"Yeah, thats for sure." Emily and JJ were both quiet again. Emily realized that the silence this time actually wasn't uncomfortable, it was nice, in a weird sort of way. "JJ?" Emily asked as she changed into more comfortable clothes. "Are we okay?"

"I want us to be."

"What...what did I do?"

"Nothing."

"JJ, I must have done something. You definitely were mad at me."

"I wasn't."

"JJ, please don't lie to me."

"I wasn't." JJ said more forcefully. "I was just angry in general."

"Well you sure as hell directed it at me."

"And you avoided me at every chance you got!"

"What!"

"Don't deny it Emily."

"I...that doesn't change the fact that you were openly hostile to me. I didn't even do anything!"

"Yes you did!"

"What!" Emily found herself yelling.

"You made me like you!" JJ screamed back. Emily was silent. She wasn't sure if she heard JJ correctly. Holy fuck she hoped she had, but every fiber of her being was screaming that she did not hear that right.

"What?" She whispered.

JJ sighed on the other end of the line. Emily could just picture her flopping down into a chair and pinching the bridge of her nose as she always did when frustrated. She waited, barely breathing for JJ's response. "I liked you and it made me mad at you."

"That...that doesn't make sense."

"Emily, we work together, I generally don't date people I work with."

"Neither do I." Emily added quickly.

"Well, I wanted to date you. And then I found out you were dating Will...and I...well I got jealous and I had no reason to be, but that's why I was angry with you. I'm sorry. I just, I needed to tell you. To clear the air, I don't know, I don't like being angry with you and its affecting the team, so I apologize and it won't happen again."

Emily was speechless. She had no idea how to respond to that. Half of her wanted to scream, 'no! Be jealous all you want, all the time'; but they still worked together, there were rules. "I'm not dating Will." Was the only thing that came out of her mouth.

"You're not?" JJ asked, sounding very hopeful.

"No. I mean, I kind of was going to. Technically we have a date – a first date – for tomorrow." Emily kicked the wall. She couldn't believe she just told JJ that, what a shitty thing to say. "But..." It was now or never, JJ had bared her soul, it was Emily's move. Taking a deep breath, she gathered all of the courage she could muster. "I wouldn't mind canceling, if I had better plans."

"Better plans?"

Emily nodded, then realized JJ couldn't see her. "Yeah." She said, bitting her thumb almost to the point of bleeding. Maybe she was jumping the gun, maybe JJ had just been telling her to tell her and she didn't actually want a relationship. From what Emily had heard, she and Morgan had reputations for not usually dating one woman for very long. JJ still hadn't spoken and Emily was about to try and find some way to take it back.

"Emily?" JJ asked.

"Yeah?"

"Are you free around six tomorrow?"

Emily beamed. "Yes. I think I might be."

"I'll pick you up then."

"Okay." Emily felt very much like giggling, something that was very unlike her. "Wait, JJ, what about the rule about..."

"I don't think it will be a problem." JJ said, cutting her off.

"Really? How do you know?"

"Let's just say I do." Emily could hear the smile in JJ's voice.

"Okay..."

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" JJ asked.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Have a good night Em."

"You too JJ." Emily hung up the phone with a huge grin on her face. She had a phone call to a certain detective to make. Apparently, she was no longer free


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you for all of your reviews, they motivate me a lot, glad people seem to be enjoying it. This is a short update, and their actual date will be in the next one. Sorry to split it like that, I've just been busy. **

Emily groaned and ripped her shirt off for the third time. Nothing she put on looked even remotely good. Yelling out in frustration, she dug back through her closet. She was not unaccustomed to being nervous before dates, but this was a whole new level. Emily had considered calling JJ and telling her she was sick twice already. JJ wouldn't tell her where they were going, all she had said was to dress casual. Hearing her phone ring, Emily crawled over her bed and grabbed it from the nightstand.

"Hey Princess, how's it going?" Morgan asked her.

"I'm going to die." Emily moaned.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Derek, I have no idea what to wear, my palms are all sweaty and I think I might pass out. I've never been this nervous in my life! Help me!"

"Okay, okay, hang on." Emily heard some shuffling and then Garcia's voice greeted her.

"Your dark jeans that show off your ass."

"Already wearing them"

"Good girl. That red backless top drove her crazy when you went with us to the club."

"I don't want to wear the same thing."

"Do you have anything similar? Anything in red, low cut, or backless and she'll go nuts."

"Garcia I can't do this." Emily whined.

"Do I need to come over there and slap you?"

"Garcia, I am horrible on dates. I get all nervous and do this stupid giggle thing and spit out facts worse than Reid."

"Sweetie that's not possible." Garcia said seriously.

"Garcia!" Emily yelled.

"Okay, okay, sweetie, this isn't some random person you barely know, its JJ."

"That makes it so much worse! If it was just some random person I never have to see them again if I don't want to. JJ is my friend and my coworker, I'll see her all the time."

"Yeah...that's true, but what do you think is going to go wrong?"

"I could say something stupid, or it might just be awkward or..."

Garcia cut her off. "Stop it. Sweetie, I have known JJ a long time, and I can tell you that I have never seen her so into someone before. Your not going to do anything wrong."

Emily was silent for a few moments. "Red or black?" She finally asked. She could practically hear Garcia grinning through the phone.

"Are either low cut or backless?"

"Red is low cut, black is backless."

"Low cut, red definitely." Morgan's voice said as he took the phone back from Garcia.

"How would you know?" Emily asked him with an annoyed tone. She crawled off her bed to find the shirt all the same.

"I've gone out with JJ before, I know what catches her eye."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that because it makes me oddly jealous."

"Good." She heard him say with a laugh. "Now, get dressed and have a great time. I expect details tomorrow."

"Not a chance." Emily said with a smirk, and promptly hung up on him. She yanked the shirt on over her head and stared at herself in the mirror. It wasn't half bad. Grabbing her purse and a light jacket, she headed downstairs to wait.

* * *

><p>JJ pulled around the block in front of Emily's apartment for the third time. She had been much to early and felt like a creeper circling the block. She had called Garcia almost twenty times since leaving the bureau for the day and she was sure she had driven the technical analyst completely crazy.<p>

"Jayje, really? Chill out." Garcia told her after she called her again from the car.

"Garcia! I don't do proper dating well. I don't really do it at all! I have no clue what to do. Emily is rich, she's probably used to crazy fancy restaurants and shit."

"JJ, whatever you do, she'll love."

"How do you know?"

"Because she likes you! God, between the two of you I swear to god!"

"What does that mean?"

"It means, Morgan just hung up with her after I was calming her down and you so rudely interrupted for the millionth time!"

"What?" JJ asked, shocked.

"Look, I love you both, but quit talking to me. I mean it, your both freaking out and using me as a middleman and I can't do it anymore! Go make out with her and leave me alone!" JJ sat in her car, speechless after Garcia's rant. She heard her friend take a deep calming breath. "Jayje, I meant that in the most supportive, nicest way possible. You're both freaking out over nothing, you like each other, go have fun."

"Thanks Penelope."

"Anytime. And I expect details tomorrow."

JJ looked out her window and could see the silhouette of a nervous Emily pacing back in forth in her living room. JJ grinned and got out of her car. "Not a chance Pen." She said as she hung up the phone and walked up the steps to greet Emily.


	9. Chapter 9

**I apologize again for leaving you off at the last chapter where I did. I know I'm a tease, but here we go:) I have no idea if there are any bodies of water/oceans etc. anywhere near DC, but lets pretend there are. I hope you all enjoy, thank you so much for all the feedback. You're all awesome. **

JJ took a deep breath and paused at the front door. Running her fingers through her hair, smoothing her shirt and smiling, she rang the doorbell. She really hoped Emily liked what she was wearing. She had decided to go with a pair of dark skinny jeans that really showed off her legs and a light blue t-shirt that was particularly low cut, but not enough to look like she was trying too hard. Her hair she had kept down, going for a more relaxed look. JJ just prayed this date went well; a romantic, she was not. Usually she would just pick a girl up in a bar and eventually bring her home to her bed and that was that. She didn't want to do that with Emily; no that was a lie, it was all she wanted, but she wasn't about to ruin things by going too fast. Emily was first and foremost her friend and someone she cared about too much already to risk screwing things up. If nothing ended up coming out of this new relationship, she certainly didn't want to lose Emily from her life all together. _Please let tonight go okay. Please let tonight go okay._ She chanted as she heard footsteps shuffling towards the door. Next thing she knew she was greeted by a beaming brunette and all her fears seemed to wash away as soon as she saw that smile. JJ loved the effect Emily could have on her.

"Hi!" Emily said nervously.

"Hi Em, you...god you look stunning." JJ said almost hungrily. Her eyes raked over Emily's body. Those jeans hugged her every curve, and that shirt! Shit, JJ knew that if she stepped one foot into Emily's apartment, she wouldn't be coming out anytime soon.

Emily sheepishly looked down at her feet with a small grin. "Thank you JJ. You look fantastic."

"Thank you." JJ said returning her smile. From the way Emily's eyes were wandering, JJ knew she had made the right choice. Her confidence returning, she stuck out her hand. "Ready for the night of your life?"

Emily gave her a small laugh, reached out and grabbed her purse and took JJ's hand. "Yes ma'am. Are you going to finally tell me where we're going?"

"Nope." JJ said with a grin. God she loved the feeling of Emily's hand in hers. Reluctantly, she dropped it to get into her car. The second they shut their doors, the enclosed space filled with sexual tension. She could feel it instantly and she could tell Emily felt it as well. JJ reached out and turned the radio on as some sort of distraction. "Any requests?" She asked.

"No, I pretty much like everything."

"Good to know."

Both women were silent as the music came on. JJ found herself steeling glances at Emily every chance she got, and caught her doing the same.

"Do you think we'll take that case you were looking at today?"

"Em, I have one rule. No talking about work."

"Gotcha, but I was asking more as a way to plan out the rest of the week. Are we going to be free friday night?"

"Why?"

"Cause it will be my turn to take you out."

"We've barely gone on a first date and your so sure we're going to have a second?"

The look on Emily's face could only be described as sheer horror. In the blink of an eye she controlled herself and plastered on her professional 'compartmentalization' face JJ recognized so well. "You're...not?" She asked quietly.

JJ didn't hesitate for a second. They had reached a stop sign, she turned her body to Emily's and gave her the most heartfelt, sincere smile she could. "Friday sounds fantastic. I think they can handle this case without us."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Emily beamed. JJ heard a car honk behind her and she pulled the car out. "So, are you going to give me a hint or something?" Emily asked a minute later.

"Its not a fancy restaurant."

"Fine with me." Emily said with a laugh.

"You might need something warmer than what you're wearing."

"Really?"

"Don't worry, I've got you covered."

"How long until we get there?"

"About ten more minutes." Unable to stand not touching Emily anymore, JJ reached over and took her hand, holding it against the middle arm rest of the car.

* * *

><p>JJ instructed Emily to close her eyes five minute prior to their unknown destination. As she felt the car pull to a stop, she released JJ's hand and made to open her eyes.<p>

"Not yet!" JJ said quickly. "Stay where you are."

Emily heard the car door slam, and shuffling around as JJ dug around gathering things from what Emily assumed to be the trunk. "JJ?" She called out. "Can I open my eyes now?"

"No! Stay there. Cover them with your hands so I know you're not peaking!"

"Seriously?"

"Yes!" JJ called out fiercely. Emily just smiled and complied. She had a feeling that she would do anything JJ asked, no matter how ridiculous the request. Emily could hear JJ moving around outside of the car, there was another sound, it seemed familiar, but with the door closed, she couldn't quite place it. The next thing she knew, her door opened and JJ took her hands off of her face and held them. "Don't open your eyes. Come on out."

"JJ..."

"I got you, relax." Emily let JJ guide her out of the car and forward. The ground was uneven at her feet and she stumbled slightly, loosing her balance. She felt JJ's hands tighten around her and hold her steady. "You okay?" JJ asked as they pressed on. Emily nodded. "Just a little bit further."

Emily could feel a cool breeze and the gentle swell and fall of what she recognized as water. "JJ? Are we at an ocean?" She asked, shocked.

"Emily Prentiss, ruin my grand reveal why don't you." JJ said in mock annoyance. "Open your damn eyes." Emily tentatively opened her eyes and took in the gorgeous sight before her. JJ had found some small little beach that Emily had never heard of. The sun was setting right over the water and there was a blanket and a picnic set up down on the sand; a flowered centerpiece and everything. It was possibly the sweetest, most romantic thing anyone had ever done for her. Emily grinned as she turned back to JJ's worried face. She gripped her hands tighter and pulled JJ in close, kissing her for all she was worth. JJ responded with so much enthusiasm, she almost knocked Emily over. The two women stood kissing until the need for air became to great. It was possibly the most fantastic first kiss Emily had ever had. "Does that mean you like it?" JJ asked with a smile as their forehead's were pressed together.

"I love it JJ. This is amazing."

"Well good." The two women headed over to sit down on the blanket. Emily marveled in the food JJ had cooked. Emily couldn't cook to save her life, she even had a knack for ruining boiled water, but JJ? JJ was a better cook than half of the chiefs Emily's mother had hired over the years.

* * *

><p>"JJ." Emily moaned. "This is amazing." JJ froze at the sound of Emily moaning her name. She was embarrassed to admit how turned on she was. After the mind blowing kiss, and now this! JJ was pretty proud of herself, this date was turning out to be fantastic. JJ had worried that perhaps the whole beach, picnic thing would be a little corny, but she wanted to do something special and different, to prove she could do this; if not just to Emily, to herself. JJ didn't just want a one night stand, she wanted Emily and she wanted her for a long, long time.<p>

"Why thank you." She answered playfully.

"I had no idea you were such a good cook."

"I have many talents your unaware of Prentiss." JJ said with a coy grin. It got the reaction she wanted. Emily froze as she was about to pop a piece of pineapple into her mouth, staring at JJ in complete shock. Finally she shook her head and laughed, JJ joined in with her.

She was surprised at how easily the conversation came to the two of them. Granted, Emily had always been easy to talk to, but before hand, it was almost always work related in some capacity or another. The little she thought she knew about Emily Prentiss, seemed to only scratch the surface. JJ realized that other than sharing the odd hotel room, the two of them had never really been alone together for any length of time. She felt at peace with Emily. One look into her deep brown eyes and JJ just felt like...well, she didn't have the words to describe it yet. She would figure it out eventually, for now, it felt good and she wanted more of it. As they finished their dinner, Emily grinned and lay down on the blanket. JJ placed herself beside her, and took Emily's hand.

"Thank you JJ." Emily whispered.

"For what?"

"Everything."

JJ grinned and began rubbing circles around Emily's palm slowly, very happy with the reaction she felt from Emily's body. "Thank you too."

"For what? You're the one who did everything."

"Well, you made it worth it."

"Jezz, JJ, you're pretty smooth." Emily said with a laugh.

"I have my moments." JJ rolled over slightly and initiated their second kiss, no longer able to handle not kissing those lips. Emily moaned as JJ slipped her tongue into Emily's mouth and curled her fingers into JJ's hair. They finally broke apart with a desperate cry for air, but curled into each other, watching the water crash upon the shore. Neither woman moved until it was completely dark and JJ released Emily to grab the blanket she had brought. Tucking it around themselves, she happily pulled Emily back into her arms and got comfortable. The sand underneath them was cold, but not uncomfortably so, and their bodies pressed together brought on much more heat than the blanket. Before she knew it, JJ found herself falling asleep.

* * *

><p>Emily woke up to find blonde hair in her face. She smiled once she remembered who it was attached too. Shifting her head slightly, Emily looked up at JJ sleeping peacefully beside her. The sun was rising around them, and somehow during the night, they had tangled themselves together even more so than they had already been. Grinning, Emily snuggled closer into JJ and thought she wouldn't mind waking up this way every morning. She couldn't believe how fantastic the night had been. JJ was an amazing person, the more time Emily spent with her, the more she wanted to know. Emily could honestly say she had never felt like this with anyone before. Truthfully, the greatness of her feelings scared her a little. To get this attached to someone was not safe. Anything could happen. JJ might not feel as strongly about Emily as she felt towards her, their jobs were certainly a strain on any relationship, just look at Hotch and Haley. Not to mention the dangers, the uncertainty for long term safety, an unsub could take either of them out at any time. Plus there was always Emily's mother and her endless tales of broken marriages, what image to portray to the world, etc. etc. Emily was just scared, scared, but completely happy.<p>

She felt JJ stirring a little, before she could move or say anything, a still sleeping JJ reached out and cupped her breast. Emily froze.

JJ continued to wake up, but never removed her hand, Emily didn't trust herself to move or breath. Finally, JJ opened her eyes and smiled at Emily. "Morning." She said with her blue eyes still full of sleep.

"Good morning." Emily choked back.

"You okay?"

"Umm, yeah, your...your hand is kinda..."

JJ looked down and gasped, immediately removing her hand with an embarrassed glance to Emily. "Oh shit, I am so sorry Em. I move a lot in the night and I tend to..."

"Its fine." Emily cut her off with a smile, then to further calm the blonde down, she cupped her chin and pulled her into a small kiss.

"Well, good morning." JJ repeated with a smile as they broke apart.

"You said that already." Emily answered with a grin.

"Well, it was worth saying again. I'm sorry, I didn't mean for us to sleep out here in the cold."

"Its okay. It was kind of nice actually."

"It was wasn't it?"

"I do think we should get back though, before someone catches us out here."

"You're probably right. Technically, we're trespassing." JJ said as she sat up and stretched.

"What!" Emily yelled as she sat up quickly. "JJ!"

"Oh relax, we get out of here no one will know."

"You are unbelievable. What were you gonna do if we got caught?"

"Flash my badge." JJ said with a shrug as she began packing up their picnic. Emily shook her head in amusement and went to help her pack the car.

They drove home in relative silence. Rather than the nervous, awkward tension from the night before, the two women had become comfortable with each other. Talking seemed unnecessary. All too soon, they pulled up to Emily's apartment. She was about to turn and thank JJ, when the blonde climbed out of the car. Confused, Emily watched her walk around and open her door before she could. JJ offered Emily a hand with a sheepish smile. Emily beamed and took it, allowing JJ to walk her to her door.

"JJ, I had a wonderful time."

"Me too."

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome." JJ leaned in and kissed Emily. She didn't think she would ever get tired of kissing JJ. And when they broke apart, both women sighed, already missing the contact. JJ bent in and pecked her on the cheek then turned and headed back to her car. She pulled out with a wave and only then did Emily finally go into her apartment; a goofy grin plastered all over her face.


	10. Chapter 10

**So, I have a question for you guys...I started this as a sort of prequel to the story I actually wanted to write. I was wondering if you guys would rather I do a time jump, or just start a whole new story? I have a little bit more to cover before I start the one I originally wanted (with Em and JJ together) so that will be a whole new one regardless. Its kind of up to you guys, what would you rather? I hope that makes sense...it sounds odd now that I read it...**

JJ glanced down into the bullpen for the fifth time that morning. She had been the first to arrive, and Emily – living the furthest away – was usually the last. JJ didn't want to admit to herself how much she had missed the brunette after only being away from her for a few hours. It felt extremely pathetic, but also made her grin like an idiot. A fact Garcia had been quick to note when she arrived fifteen minutes ago. Morgan had also greeted her with a cheeky smirk to which JJ only responded by throwing a pen at his head. She looked up fearful as Gideon caught her and stared with a look of confusion at her. Sheepishly, she had retreated to her office, rather than wait in the bullpen as she had wanted. Gideon had been acting oddly, it was only to be expected, after what he went through, but it threw JJ on edge a little. Gideon was already someone who was hard to gage, now it was even worse. Not to mention, he was the only one – that JJ knew off – who knew nothing about her feelings, or relationship with Emily. That was partly what freaked JJ out. She wasn't sure if she and Emily were technically dating, or in a relationship, or if she was supposed to refer to her as her girlfriend. JJ was just confused, happy and confused.

"JJ?" Hotch greeted her with a knock on her open door. "Will we be ready in the conference room soon?"

"Um..yeah, I have everything set up. Ready when you guys are."

"Okay sounds good. JJ?" He paused before leaving.

"Yeah?"

"Did you and Prentiss sort everything out?"

"You could say that." JJ said with a small smile. "Hotch is this going to be..."

"JJ, as long as it doesn't effect your work, the two of you have my full support."

"Thanks Hotch." JJ said with a sincere smile.

"Conference room in ten."

"Sounds good." JJ gathered her things and made her way to the conference room with one last glance down at the bullpen. Emily was running in, slightly flustered. JJ smiled as she dropped her bag, snapped some retort back to Morgan, shucked her coat and straightened her hair with her fingers. Whatever Morgan said caused her to smack him in the back of his head as they headed up to the debriefing. JJ quickly looked away and headed into the room. Taking her spot at the head of the table, JJ set out files for everyone and got the computer ready.

JJ felt it the second Emily entered the room. She could feel her eyes on her, and it made her smile. Taking a deep breath, needing to keep it professional, JJ got straight to business. "We've got three bodies." She began. Turning to look at the team for the first time, JJ finally caught Emily's eye. She gave her a brief smile and pressed on.

* * *

><p>Emily worked very hard to contain her grin. She was spending a little too much time watching JJ rather than listening to what were the details of their next case. A look from Morgan brought her back to reality. When the team cleared the room, Emily lingered wanting to speak with JJ.<p>

"Hi." She said softly when they were alone.

"Hi." JJ returned warmly as she closed the distance between them. "How are you?" She asked.

"Good, how are you?"

"Disappointed we have a case, but otherwise, pretty damn good."

Emily grinned and tentatively reached out to lace their fingers together. "Well, we'll just have to make do."

"Yup."

A knock on the door caused the two women to jump away from each other. "Wheels up in five ladies." Hotch said.

"Shit." Emily cursed.

"What?" JJ asked. "Hotch doesn't care."

"I doubt that very much."

"Why?"

"I don't think he is exactly the biggest fan of me. And I don't really blame him."

"Emily..."

"No, its fine. I've got to get my stuff, I'll see you on the plane." Hurriedly, Emily left the conference room and headed down to the bullpen. Ever since Strauss had told her that she would have to help end Hotch's career Emily had been on edge. Strauss had called her during their cases more than once wanting some sort of update. Emily had stalled her as much as she could, but she knew that couldn't last much longer. As much as Emily loved her job, and as much as she wanted to stay, she respected Hotch, and she wasn't about to help end someone's career like that. Emily had been contemplating what to do about it for days and she had yet to come to any sort of conclusion that had an outcome she liked.

Emily hurried to the plane and sat herself down in the empty seat next to Morgan and across from JJ. She didn't make eye contact with either of them, instead focused on her file and what Hotch was saying.

* * *

><p>Emily was avoiding her and JJ was pissed. She had thought their date had gone wonderfully, JJ couldn't remember having a better time with a woman, but Emily would barely look at her. It couldn't just be her trying to keep things professional. JJ was going to have to play dirty. Pulling out her cell phone she called Garcia.<p>

"Hey Pen, can you do me a little favor?"

"Sure buttercup, what can I do ya for?"

"Can you possibly make a slight problem with our rooms?" JJ asked while bitting her lip.

"Jayje, are you asking me to get you and a certain raven haired profiler in a room together so you can get you hanky panky on?" Garcia asked with a chuckle.

This is what JJ had been afraid of. "No!" She said forcefully. "I just need Emily in a forced enclosed space where she can't run away and avoid me."

"Oh, well that I can do! Over and out my love."

JJ hung up and hoped she wasn't going to regret this. Morgan walked into the room frustrated. "Hey, you okay?" She asked.

"This case sucks, and Prentiss is being all weird. Did you screw up your date?"

"What!" JJ yelled.

"Did you make her mad or something?"

"NO!" JJ yelled louder. "We had an amazing time thank you very much."

"Then what's wrong with her?"

"I don't know!" JJ moaned and dropped her head into her arms.

Morgan took pity on her and rubbed her back slightly. "Sorry JJ, I didn't mean to..."

"Its fine. I just...I don't know how to do this Morgan. I'm not really a relationship kind of girl, its stressful and confusing."

"Yeah pretty much." Morgan said with a laugh.

"Well what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Well, Prentiss is a tough one, she doesn't really talk about herself much. You're gonna have to force it out of her."

"How?" JJ asked. Morgan wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. JJ frowned and hit him as Reid walked in.

"We've got a suspect, why did you hit him?"

"No reason." Morgan said as he pulled Reid out of the room with one last grin toward JJ.

* * *

><p>JJ was regretting calling Garcia. She stared at the king sized bed in the middle of the room and wanted to shoot herself in the foot. She pulled out her phone and texted Garcia angrily.<p>

**What did you do?**

**Whatever you do mean my love?**

**Penelope, I will hurt you.**

**I did what you asked buttercup. Have a wonderful night!**

**This is not what I asked!**

**Goodnight Jayje, I'm turning my phone off now.**

JJ internally groaned and dropped her bag on the floor.

"Oh." Emily said as she came up behind her and realized their predicament.

"Yeah, apparently this is the only room they have left. Some weird mixup." JJ said with clenched teeth. She was going to kill Garcia when they got home.

"Well...what can we do right?" Emily said nervously. "Do you mind if I shower first? I really want to wash this mud off."

"No, go ahead." JJ dug some pjs out of her bag as Emily headed into the bathroom. They had a good suspect in custody and Emily had been forced to tackle him and had gotten covered in mud. They were holding him overnight as their was nothing they could do for the time being and a night in jail was their hope of shaking him up. Emily hadn't had a chance to clean off yet. She had gotten some odd looks from the hotel workers which had JJ glaring at them until they backed off.

Sighing, she climbed into the bed and turned the tv on, flicking through the channels and resting on the news coverage of their case. Emily stepped out of the bathroom moments later in very small shorts, and form fitting t-shirt, towel drying her hair. JJ subconsciously licked her lips. "These reporters are idiots." She said chucking the remote gently down onto the bed.

Emily grinned at her and sat down on the opposite edge, still drying out her hair. "What did they say?"

"Its not so much what they said, but how they're saying it. I'm gonna have to do some damage control tomorrow."

"Well, lucky for us, your good at it." Emily said giving her a soft smile. JJ watched as she draped the towel over a chair and reached out for a brush.

"Thank you."

"Your welcome." Emily said, giving her a warm smile.

JJ decided it was now or never, Morgan was right, Emily was someone who needed to be pushed if she was going to open up. She wouldn't just offer the information up herself. "Em? Are we okay?"

"What?"

JJ turned her body so it was facing Emily's and noticed the brunette shift back slightly. Frowning, she spoke a little more harshly than she had intended to. "You've barley looked at me. I know we want to keep things professional at work, but there is keeping things professional and there is flat out avoidance and that is what you're doing." JJ paused and softened her voice. "From what you said, I thought we had a good time last night."

"We did."

"Well, then...I'm confused."

Emily sighed and set her hairbrush down. JJ watched as she tucked her legs under the blankets and gathered her thoughts before answering JJ. "I...I can't really talk about it. I want to, but I don't think I should until I've figured it out."

"Em..."

"Its not about you JJ, well, not really."

"That doesn't really instill much confidence in me."

Emily let out a small laugh and then adorably bit her lip. "I know, I'm sorry. JJ, I had a fantastic time and I want to do it again, what's bothering me is something else entirely."

"Well, maybe I can help."

"I don't think so."

"Why not?" JJ asked somewhat angrily.

"I...its something I have to work out myself JJ. I'm sorry." Emily turned on her side and lay down, turning her back to JJ. Angrily, JJ shut out the light and did the same.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry to leave you guys like that last chapter. What I think I'm gonna do is a time jump and then start the sequel as a separate story. If I change my mind, I'll let you guys know:) Thanks for the feedback, hope you continue to enjoy:) A lot of the dialogue in this is taken directly out of the episode 3x02 In Name and Blood. I don't own any of it. I think this is the longest chapter I have ever written!**

Emily spent the rest of the case and the days afterwords actively avoiding JJ. Every time she tried to get her alone, she went in the opposite direction. As hurt as she was, she couldn't help but notice Emily was avoiding everyone, not just her. The whole team was on edge since Hotch was forced into a suspension by Strauss.

When JJ went into the bureau the next morning, she looked into Gideon's office and saw Reid sound asleep in a chair. Amused, she walked in and gave him a small shake.

"Reid? What are you doing in here?" She asked.

Rubbing his eyes and sitting up, Reid glanced at his watch and gave JJ a small laugh. "Gideon didn't answer his phone. I called him twice."

"Have you been here all night?"

"We were supposed to play chess." Reid said, nodding to the unused chess set on the table.

JJ frowned slightly. "Here?"

"Yeah, he hasn't been back to his apartment since um..."

JJ nodded, understanding what Reid was trying to say. "Right." She said, shifting the files in her hand. Reid slung his messenger bag over his shoulder. "I need to brief the team...so..." JJ trailed off. Reid nodded, getting up.

"Is Hotch here?" Reid asked.

Looking at her watch JJ answered him, "uh he's not due for a half hour."

Nodding, Reid followed JJ into the conference room and the pair sat down to get ready. Looking up as Morgan walked in with a cup of coffee, JJ gave him a small smile of hello. "What no Hotch, now no Gideon?" He asked.

"No, not yet." JJ answered him as she began writing on her file.

"You know these guys have been out two weeks, you'd think they'd at least be on time." He said sitting down at the table.

"Yeah, cause you're never late." Reid said with a smirk. JJ glanced at Morgan, eyebrows raised, daring him to challenge Reid. Smartly, he opened his file and asked the question JJ had been asking herself for days now it seemed.

"So, where's Prentiss?"

"Her phone just keeps going straight to voicemail." JJ answered him, frustrated, but trying not to show it much. She had tried to call Emily more than once in the last past few days and she was flat out sick of being avoided.

Annoyed, Morgan dropped his pen down on the table. "This room just keeps getting smaller and smaller doesn't it?"

"Should we wait fifteen minutes?" Reid asked.

JJ was through with waiting for Emily. "We can brief them on the plane, right now police in Milwaukee need our help." Turning on the computer screen, JJ pushed all thoughts of Emily out of her mind and got down to business. This case was horrible. "They've had four murders over the past three weeks, and in addition another woman has been missing the last two days. They've all been women in their thirties, all married with children."

"Any connection between these victims?" Morgan asked.

"Just that they've all been abducted from the same area, all very public places, but no witnesses."

Curiously, Reid glanced through the file. "How are we even certain its the same killer."

JJ sighed, this was the horrific part. Hitting a button on her remote, she braced herself again for the image. "Well, for starters, all of the bodies have been dumped in the cities' third ward, and there's this." She flipped to the next photograph and instinctively looked back down at the table. She didn't need to see it again, once was enough to seer it into her memory for life. Morgan and Reid's faces turned to shock as their mouths dropped open.

"Is that what I think it is?" Reid asked, horrified.

"All of their hearts have been cut from their bodies." JJ said trying desperately not to think about it. She was not looking forward to this case at all. Gathering their things, she followed Reid and Morgan to head out to the jet.

* * *

><p>Emily took a deep breath and straightened her back. This was not what she wanted to do, but she hadn't been able to come to any other conclusions. Not to mention, she couldn't stand avoiding JJ anymore, she missed her. Not bothering to knock, Emily walked into Hotch's office, her attention going straight to Strauss. Staring at her, "sorry to interrupt" she said towards Strauss, making sure she didn't look sorry at all. Turning to Hotch, she softened her face. "Sir, I've decided to resign from the FBI, effective immediately."<p>

Hotch instantly frowned. "I don't understand."

It was hard to keep his gaze. Looking down at Strauss, she saw the older woman frown and shift her position on the couch. "I'm taking the Foreign Service Exam, with my connections I stand a good chance at landing in the State Department." She hated throwing in the line about her connections, but it was sure to bother Strauss, and that would make the sting of this a little easier.

"Prentiss I think that's a mistake." Hotch stated forcefully.

Emily couldn't help but smile a little. She finally gets some respect from Hotch, and now she is leaving, story of her life. "Well, don't try to talk me out of it, Garcia saw my name on the list and she already tried." Emily gave a small laugh to try to cover up how shitty she was feeling. Garcia had been relentless. She had almost smacked Emily in the back of the head, going on about how could she leave everyone, especially JJ. It had been very hard not to listen to her. "If she can't talk someone out of doing something, no one can." Emily glanced at Strauss one more time, she wouldn't meet Emily in the eye, something that Hotch took note off. "Sorry for the interruption." She repeated and turned to leave. Pausing, Emily turned around. "But Sir, its good to see you back." Turning to look at Strauss, she emphasized her last words. "The team needs you." Strauss pressed her lips together and looked down. "Ma'am." She said, giving a curt nod before glancing back at Hotch with a tiny smile one more time, she left the office. Emily respected him, she needed him to know that. Walking down to her desk, she collected her things and walked out of the office for the last time. Checking her phone, she could see that JJ had tried to call her a few times. She almost called JJ back, but she knew they had left on a case, and she wanted to explain everything in person. Not wanting to leave JJ waiting like she had been, she replied to the text message JJ had sent her.

**I'll explain everything when you get back. I'm sorry. **

* * *

><p>JJ stared at Strauss, sitting in the corner on the plane. "You know from this angle, she almost looks human." She said to Morgan and Reid.<p>

Reid looked back at her and gave a small laugh. "Has anyone talked to Emily yet?" He asked.

JJ shrugged and tried not to show how much it bothered her. "She was gone before I heard the news." She said. The news that she quit. JJ couldn't believe this, if Emily wanted to avoid her that badly, she should have said something. JJ felt very much like slapping the brunette across the face.

"Now we're down two agents and Gideon's MIA." Morgan said, sounding just as frustrated as JJ.

JJ glanced down as her phone buzzed. Finally, a response from Emily. With a glance over to Strauss, making sure she wasn't looking JJ replied back.

**You quit! What is going on? Hotch is gone, Gideon is missing and Strauss is on the case with us. Please explain what's wrong. **

Emily's answer was instantaneous. **I'll explain it when you get back. I promise. I want to talk about it in person. Its not because of you.**

Groaning, JJ dropped her phone. She wanted answers now, but she knew they needed to focus on the case.

Reid whispered, "has Strauss ever been out in the fiel..." Morgan quickly motioned for him to be quiet as Strauss walked over to them.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe its protocol to brief everyone before we arrive at the crime scene?" She asked.

JJ gave her one of her fake media liaison smiles. "Yes Ma'am." She answered, doing her best to make 'ma'am' sound like some kind of curse word. Emily had perfected that. "This unsub abducts women from very public places, holds them for 48 hours, no sign of sexual assault, then dumps them in public places with their hearts cut out of their chest." JJ explained to her.

Morgan stared down Strauss as he not so gently slapped a crime scene photo on the table. JJ watched as she cringed and pulled her sweater tighter around her neck, but reached over to take the photograph. Oddly, it made her feel a little better, but she instantly shook it off. This was horrific, it bothered JJ too.

"There's is an obvious dichotomy in the skill the unsub exhibits in abducting these women and the fact that he cuts their hearts out so crudely." Reid stated.

JJ watched as Morgan continued to stare down Strauss. "We're probably looking at someone in a psychotic break. Could be a butcher, could be a hunter, somebody that's comfortable being around blood, but as you can see obviously doesn't have the skills of a surgeon."

Frowning, Strauss crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "So do we have a working theory?"

Morgan gave a slight chuckle and JJ looked over at him. "Sure we do, somebody really doesn't like women." He said with a slight glare, slapped his files down and got up from his seat. JJ gave Strauss a tight smile and looked back down at her own files. This was not going to be an easy case at all.

As they arrived at the scene, Morgan introduced them all to the police officers.

"You worked the Jeffery Dahmer case!" Reid stated as he recognized the lead detective's name.

"Sixteen years ago." The officer said, confused.

"I've uh, studied it."

"And you remember my name?"

"He remembers everything." JJ said with a small smile.

"Its what he does." Morgan said.

"What can you tells us?" Strauss asked with her arms crossed. They listened as the officer explained everything to them. Then walked over to the body, covered mostly in a white sheet. Reid stated that the unsub was trying to demean them, putting them out like trash. Annoyed, Strauss glared at the detective. "This is your fifth victim." She stated. "You should have called us sooner."

"We thought we had a handle on it." The detective defended himself.

"Apparently not."

_Shit._ JJ thought. _This woman is going to make my job harder than it has to be._ JJ stood up from her crouched position. "Ma'am?" She motioned for Strauss to follow her. Walking away from the group slightly, JJ rubbed her hands together nervously. "We need to work _with_ these detectives." She stressed.

"I'm sorry?"

"We don't generally criticize them, it just really doesn't get us anything." She answered. _Which is common fucking sense._ She thought.

"Are you saying it wouldn't be helpful if he had contacted us sooner?" Strauss asked in a condescending tone.

"Well, of, of course." JJ said, stumbling over her words slightly. Strauss always made her feel like a kid being called into the principals office. "Its always the sooner the better."

"Right." Strauss stated.

JJ nodded her head, feeling like she just got yelled at. "Okay." She whispered and turned to head back to meet the boys. Strauss stopped her.

"And Agent Jareau?" JJ stopped. "Don't question me again." Strauss said forcefully. JJ nodded as the older blonde walked away. She hated feeling like that. She wished Emily and Hotch were here.

* * *

><p>Emily closed her refrigerator as she heard knocking on her door. Walking over and looking through the peephole first, she sighed as she recognized Hotch.<p>

"Can I come in?" He asked as she opened the door. Emily stepped back and let him walk into her apartment. He didn't beat around the bush."The team needs us, they're working a case in Milwaukee." Emily followed him and quickly turned the music she had been playing off while she listened. "Gideon hasn't shown up and don't tell me you quit or I put in for a transfer."

Shocked, Emily had not known that bit of information. "You put in for a transfer?" She asked. After all she went through to help save his job?

"They're still hung up in the system, so technically we're in dereliction of duty by not being there." Hotch answered without explaining further.

"I'm sorry I can't go." Emily said shaking her head and shifting her weight. Hotch frowned at her, but nodded.

"Right, sorry I barged in." He said softly and turned to leave. Emily stopped him.

"Wait, wait, can I ask...why are you really here?"

Moving to stand by Emily's counter top in her kitchen, he stuck his hands in his pockets and didn't meet her eye. "I told you." Emily made a face at him and raised her eyebrows. She didn't buy that for a second. Hotch turned to face her. "I think Strauss came to you and asked for dirt on me."

Emily angrily shifted her weight and almost spat out, "and why would she do that?"

Hotch answered not looking at Emily. "I think if you have your eyes on top leadership in the FBI, you want to know who might stand in your way."

Emily was getting angrier by the minute, mostly because he was right. Moving forward, she faced Hotch. "And what could I have told her?" She asked with a shrug and a look of contemptment.

"That one of my agents murdered a suspect in cold blood, or another might have a serious drug problem which I didn't report, and if she had any evidence my career would be over." Frankly, Emily was shocked that he was being this honest with her. "I think she put you on our team expecting something in return." Emily glanced down in shame. "And to your credit, you quit, rather than whisper in her ear." He said softly. Emily looked back up at him and made eye contact. Those words meant something to her.

"I told you." Emily said forcefully. "I _hate_ politics."

"Come to Milwaukee." Hotch said. Emily instinctively looked down at her feet and bit her lip as she thought about it. "I'll make you a deal, if your go-bag isn't packed and ready to go, I won't bug you anymore, if it is, I want you on that plane with me. One more case."

Sighing, Emily used the last excuse she had. "I already turned in my badge and my gun."

"That's just hardware." Hotch said. Emily bit her lip again, she wanted to go. She hated being home, knowing JJ and the team were out there. And, she wanted to see JJ sooner rather than later, but if she went, it would be that much harder to quit once they got back. Hotch watched her try to decide. "JJ doesn't know anything about this does she?" He asked, startling her.

"What?"

"I'm good at my job Prentiss, despite what Strauss thinks. I'm the one who told her to get over herself and ask you out. Actually, I think technically I was one of the ones."

"Sir..I..." Emily honestly had no response to that.

"You're good for each other. Don't let someone like Strauss take that away."

And really, that was all the incentive Emily needed.

* * *

><p>JJ couldn't believe that the unsub was using his own child to abduct women. That only solidified her reasoning to not have kids, there was too much horror in this world. As the team sat at the police station after Morgan and Reid had given the profile, JJ had an idea.<p>

"Alright, it... is it possible we're looking at this the wrong way?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Strauss answered her skeptically.

JJ didn't look at her as she tried to explain her idea, choosing to focus her attention on Morgan, Reid and the detective. "We're trying to zero in on the unsub, now, you guys tell me, but if he really is using his son, wouldn't the trauma manifest more clearly on the boy?" Morgan leaned forward, agreeing with her.

"Can your analyst get a list of all the children in the area we're targeting?" Strauss asked.

"Garcia can get you whatever you want." Morgan said.

Strauss reached over and dialed Garcia's number. JJ had to bit back a laugh as her friends voice filled the room. "Talk dirty to me." JJ watched as Morgan dropped his head into his hands and Strauss frowned. She did her best to hide her smirk, but she didn't really try all that hard. She was going to hug Garcia for that when they got home.

"This is section chief Erin Strauss." She said annoyed. JJ could hear the panic in Garcia's voice as she realized who it was.

"Ma'am! I think it goes without saying I was expecting someone else." JJ was having a very hard time not laughing, she mashed her lips together and shifted in her chair. Garcia got to work finding the lists of students in the area, public, private and teachers. Strauss hung up on her as she tried to apologize. JJ sighed as she and Reid got together to go question teacher after teacher. She was floored at how many troubled kids these schools seemed to have. Parents could screw up so easily. They headed back to the police station and began looking through the files, they needed to find something in about twelve hours.

"Hey, look who's here!" Reid said excitedly. JJ looked up and beamed as she saw Emily walk into the room.

"Hey, where do we start?" Emily said, giving JJ a nervous smile. She looked fantastic in pink. "How fast can you get us up to speed?" She directed to JJ.

Grinning, JJ forgot that she was annoyed with Emily, she was just happy to see her. "How fast can you sit down?" She asked giving Emily a bright smile. She only smiled more as Emily returned it. Strauss walked into the room and glared at the sight of Emily and Hotch. "We're only here to help." Emily said, glaring right back. JJ was proud of her, she didn't quite have the guts to stare down Strauss like that. Getting to work, she began flipping through the files, glancing up at Emily every few minutes or so. Just having her in the same room, happy to be there, made JJ feel better.

* * *

><p>Emily frowned as they went to the newest crime scene. "This is a different area from the other dump sites isn't it? She asked.<p>

"He's getting smart, he knows where all of our manpower will be so he's changing locations." Reid said as he bent down to get a closer look next to Morgan. Emily remained standing next to JJ, who hand her fingers in front of her mouth, a deep, disturbed frown on her face. Emily wanted to reach out and take JJ's hand, but she couldn't do that now. Later. Solve this case, then talk to JJ.

"How long before he changes when and where he abducts them?" Morgan asked, snapping Emily back to the case at hand.

"If he does that we're back at zero." She said with a frustrated sigh.

"Claire!" A man yelled.

"No, no, no, we gotta keep him out of here!" Morgan yelled quickly. Emily moved with JJ to keep the husband away, no one needed to see the person they loved like this.

Back at the police station, they were going over what they had again. Emily was sitting on top of the desk, staring intently at the board.

"So what's around the dump site?" Hotch asked the detective. He explained them all, looking to Hotch rather than Strauss.

"None of them visible from the highway." The detective stated.

"You don't get there by accident." Emily said. She didn't let herself look behind her to see JJ. She was acutely aware of the blonde sitting on the windowsill near Strauss. She could feel JJ's gaze every so often.

"So we go back to the schools, we eliminate the third ward and we target problem kids who's fathers have held blue collar jobs over the last ten years." Hotch told the team.

"What if he's not a problem kid?" Reid asked, Emily could see his mind working.

"What?" Morgan asked him.

"Sometimes if a parent is unstable, especially if the other one's out of the picture, you'll do anything to be the perfect child."

"Like help your father abduct women?" Emily asked skeptically. She had to admit, as a kid, she had tried everything to get her parents attention, working hard, good grades, none of it had worked. Not even her rebellious stage.

"They're never late for school! Even with the abductions, the disposals of the bodies, its always timed perfectly so the kid will be on time for school." Reid went on. Emily shared a look with Hotch, she could tell he was agreeing with Reid as well. "I don't think the killer would care, I think the kid would."

* * *

><p>JJ and Reid headed back to the schools to talk to the teachers again. Hearing about David Smith, it broke JJ's heart a little. Your father gets cancer and your mother leaves, what a horrible situation. Everything the principal said only solidified all of the aspects of the profile. Hearing he had gone home early with a nurse, the team rushed to his house.<p>

"The boys alone in the family room." Hotch said to Strauss as they looked around inside. JJ could hear Emily, Hotch, and Morgan arguing with Strauss through their radios; she couldn't believe she was saying it, but she was on Strauss' side. She did not want Emily to go in alone at all.

"Well, if I'm no longer in the FBI then you have no authority over me. I'm just a civilian knocking on a little boy's door." Emily said stubbornly. JJ wanted to kiss her and punch her at the same time.

"As soon as you have probably cause, give us a signal and get out of there." Hotch stressed. JJ looked at Reid and bit her lip. She didn't like this one bit, but she realized it was their best shot. Listening intently, JJ was on edge, ready to run into the house at the first second she got. JJ could hear Emily talking to the boy and took the kevlar vest that Morgan threw at her. Holding her gun out, and ready, JJ bit her lip again. If she didn't chill out, she was going to draw blood. She had to admit, Emily was good at talking to kids. Hearing the signal from Emily, they ran inside at Hotch's call. JJ instantly went to Emily's side, she was bleeding.

"Are you okay?" She asked, reaching out to Emily.

"Oh, I'll be fine." Emily said trying to brush it off.

JJ wasn't having it. "I'll call an ambulance." She said, not letting Emily stand up by herself. Holding onto her arm, JJ gently led her outside and forced her to sit in the back of the bus and let them take care of her. Seeing Hotch come up to talk to her, JJ slipped away after making sure Emily was taken care of. JJ watched as the boy sat alone in the police car, she couldn't imagine what would happen to him. JJ was glad to hear it when Hotch said he didn't want to leave. But even better when she heard him say he would make sure it stayed official that Emily stayed. She glanced over at Emily again and smiled.

* * *

><p>Emily walked into her apartment and set her go-bag down. A bandage on her head, she would be fine, but it hurt like a bitch. She went over to look out her window at the view of the city, it was one of the reasons she had bought this place. Crossing her arms over her chest, she sighed. She hadn't had a chance to talk to JJ yet and that was her first plan for the next morning. Hearing a knock, it startled her a little. Emily looked to the clock, it was almost three am, who the hell could that be? Curiously, Emily walked back to her door, slightly dizzy. She hadn't exactly taken the pain medication the EMT had advised her too. She hated pills. Looking through the peephole, Emily's heart leapt a little at the sight of blonde hair and blue eyes. Emily opened the door.<p>

"JJ?" Emily asked. "What...what are you doing here?" JJ didn't ask to come in, she pushed herself into the apartment and walked into Emily's living room. "Come on in." Emily said a little sarcastically.

"You owe me a date and an explanation." JJ said without meeting Emily's eyes.

"I...um..."

"Don't!" JJ yelled a little. "Don't you dare shut me out! Don't you do that compartmentalization shit I have been dealing with for almost a year! This is your fault! I don't do relationships! I don't feel the way I feel right now! I hate you for it!"

"JJ...I.."

"No! I mean it Emily, I lov...like you. I like you way too much and I'm furious. How dare you do that! I took you on a date, I watched idiotic romantic comedies to get ideas, I threw up twice before I came to get you that night. All I think about is kissing you and it makes me want to punch you!" JJ huffed, seemingly finished. Emily grinned, which only seemed to entice JJ further. "I will hit you." The blonde growled. Emily laughed and tried to stop herself, she had caught that little lov...before JJ caught herself; and to be perfectly honest, she couldn't really hear much after that.

"JJ, I'm sorry." Emily said sincerely. JJ tossed her hair back in a huff and crossed her arms, raising her eyes at Emily to continue. Emily licked her lips and shifted her weight nervously. "How much do you know about why I quit?" She asked.

"Strauss? I don't really know." JJ admitted.

Emily motioned for JJ to take a seat, but she refused so Emily stood awkwardly while JJ glared at her. "Apparently, I was hired at the BAU to help Strauss end Hotch's career. She wanted me to report back to her."

"What!" JJ yelled. "Emily, how could you do.."

"I didn't know when I was hired. I thought got there on my own merit." Emily said cutting JJ off. Honestly, that part still hurt a little, and Emily could tell that JJ saw it. Straightening her back, Emily shook it off. "She told me a few weeks ago, I stalled for as long as I could. I hate politics JJ, I know I told you that and I...I respect Hotch. Even if I didn't, I wouldn't do that to someone. I figured if I left, then...well, then the team would stay intact, and there wouldn't be any rules stating we couldn't be together." JJ looked up and for the first time that night, her face softened. "JJ, I _do_ do relationships. I...I care about you _a lot_ and.." Emily swayed a little bit. She probably should have taken those pills. Christ, her head hurt!

"Em?" JJ asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"I...umm...yeah, I just need to...sit."

"Did you take your pills?" JJ asked.

"Umm..."

"Emily!" JJ yelled. "Why are you so stubborn!"

"I'm not..."

"Sit down now!" JJ ordered. Without asking where anything was, JJ began to dig through Emily's cupboards to find pain medication. Emily held her head in her hands and tried not to pass out. JJ poured a glass of water and set it down in front of Emily. "Take these."

"No, JJ I don't want to..."

"Emily, an insane man hit you in the head with a two by four. You have a concussion."

"No I don't."

JJ sighed. "Emily..."

"I don't, the EMT said I don't." Emily protested, feeling very much like a child.

"He was an idiot. Take these now."

"JJ..."

"My mother is a nurse. Take these now and don't make me say it again."

"JJ, you're extremely bossy."

"I know. Lift up your tongue."

"Seriously?" Emily asked.

"Do I look serious?" JJ asked with her eyebrows raised. Emily paused for a moment, then – feeling ridiculous – stuck out her tongue so JJ could check to make sure she swallowed the pills.

"Happy?" She asked.

"Yes." JJ said with a smile. "Sit down on the couch please." Emily let JJ lead her to the couch, truthfully, she needed the help, she still felt dizzy. "Are you up to explaining more?" JJ asked softly, sitting facing Emily cross-legged.

"Yeah, where was I?"

"You really, really like me and you do relationships." JJ said with a coy grin.

"Oh yeah." Emily said giving JJ a smile. "Right, I just, I couldn't be her pawn and it seemed like the best way for us to stay together, if we are...together that is?"

"I want us to be." JJ said running her fingers through Emily's hair and wincing seeing the blood through the gauze. "We need to change that."

"It's fine."

"Em..." JJ warned. She went to get up and find some more gauze, but Emily reached out and grabbed her.

"Wait, I...can't we just stay like this for a bit?"

JJ beamed at her and sat back down, pulling Emily into her arms. "Have the pills kicked in at all?"

"Yeah, I'm getting tired."

"Good, its 3:30."

"JJ...can you..." Emily hesitated. She didn't want to be alone, but she felt like asking JJ to stay was awkward. They had known each other for over a year now, they had been friends, and apparently both liked each other for the entire time, but they had only been on one actual date. Emily bit her lip. JJ seemed to get what she was saying and gave Emily a smile before gently pushing her up.

"Come on." She said, taking Emily's hand and leading her upstairs. "Where's your bathroom?" She asked. Emily pointed to her bedroom, and they walked through it to her bathroom. JJ didn't glance around, she was on a mission to change the gauze on Emily's head. Forcing her to sit down on the edge of the tub, JJ dug through the cupboard to get what she wanted. Emily was silent the entire time besides the small gasp as JJ pulled the old bandage off gently. "Sorry."

"Its fine." Emily waited patiently as JJ lovingly and gently cleaned the cut again and covered it with the gauze.

"You got pjs?"

"Top drawer." Emily watched as JJ went into her room, opened the top drawer and dug out two big t-shirts and cotton shorts. Walking back into the bathroom, she handed a pair to Emily and closed the door on her. Emily just sat there for a minute, utterly confused as to how this day was turning out. She was exhausted and as much as a part of her wanted to, she hoped all JJ had in mind was sleeping. She wasn't really ready for anything else. Emily sat up and changed her clothes, brushed her teeth and tried not to bend forward much. Hearing a knock on the door, she called out softly. "Come in." JJ opened the door and leaned against the frame, her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. God, Emily loved seeing JJ in her clothes.

"Got an extra toothbrush?" She asked. Emily reached into the cupboard and handed her an unopened blue toothbrush. JJ's smirk grew as she pushed past Emily, brushing their bodies together purposely and brushed her teeth quickly, setting her toothbrush next to Emily's in the cup. Without another word, JJ took Emily's hand and led her to the bed. "Which side do you get?" She asked.

"Either is fine, usually the left."

JJ grinned. "I like the right." The two of them climbed into the bed and JJ reached up to turn off the light. Emily sighed as her head hit the pillow, she didn't remember ever feeling this tired.

"Thanks." She whispered in the dark.

Emily felt JJ shifting a little, and next thing she knew, JJ had curled herself into Emily's side. Smiling, Emily lifted her arm and held her. "Thanks back." JJ whispered softly.

"Goodnight JJ."

JJ reached up and gently kissed Emily's bandage. "Goodnight Em."


	12. Chapter 12

**This is the single longest chapter I have ever written! Normally, the chapters average like 6-8 word pages (double spaced) this one is almost 22! This is gonna be the last chapter before I do the time jump, and then I think there will be like 6ish chapters after that. We're winding down, but I have plans for a sequel:) Thank you for all your feedback so far, it means a lot, hope you continue to enjoy!**

JJ woke up extremely comfortable. For a second, she couldn't quite remember where she was. Hearing a sigh and feeling someone shift underneath her made her pause. This was unfamiliar territory, JJ _never_ slept with anyone. Even when she had been in a 'relationship' in college (if she could really call it that) she had almost always made some excuse. Then she remembered, she was at Emily's. Quickly looking up to check on the brunette, she shifted her body so she was no longer half on top of her. Emily barely moved. JJ smiled, she needed her sleep, thankfully, she didn't have a concussion; but she had one hell of a cut and a nasty bruise forming around it. JJ quietly slid herself off of the bed, trying not to wake Emily, gathered her clothes, and tip toped downstairs. It was 8:06, Hotch had given them the morning off, no one had to be in until noon. After changing back into her clothes from the night before, JJ went about making herself some coffee.

As the coffee brewed, JJ made herself some peanut butter toast and explored Emily's apartment a little. She didn't have many pictures of herself with friends or family that JJ could see. When she found one with Reid, Garcia, Morgan, Emily and herself all grinning at a bar, JJ smiled. She had the same photograph at her apartment. Morgan was giving Reid bunny ears while Garcia was yelling at him to leave Reid alone, Emily and JJ were staring at each other, both laughing. Not one of them was actually facing the camera.

After pouring herself a mug of coffee, JJ looked around at Emily's bookshelf, she knew that the brunette liked Kurt Vonnegut, but she was clearly an avid reader. Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Tim Sandlin, some crime novels, all the Harry Potter books, what looked like a lot of first edition children's books. It was impressive. JJ didn't want to invade Emily's privacy too much, so she headed back upstairs. Emily was still asleep. JJ gave her a soft smile and then headed back downstairs, rinsed her cup and left the apartment. As she was walking to her car, she dialed Garcia.

"I'm freaking out and I need you to calm me down." She said as soon as she jammed her eyes into the ignition.

"Wha..." A sleepy voice mumbled. "Jayje? Is...wha...what time is it?"

"That is not important! Garcia, help me!"

JJ heard shuffling around on the other side of the phone. She hit the speaker phone button and dropped the phone into her lap so she could drive. "Okay, umm...ouch, fuck!"

"Garcia!"

"I'm trying to find my glasses! Hang on!" JJ heard a lot more shuffling and banging around before her friend finally seemed to be making coherent sentences. "Okay, why are you freaking out?"

"I slept with Emily."

"WHAT!" Garcia screamed. Thank god JJ had put the phone in her lap, or else that may have broken her ear drums.

"Slept, not sex, slept, way worse."

"How is that worse?"

"Garcia!"

"Oh right, you never let them stay over, what's with that anyway?"

"Can you just focus please?"

"Okay, what happened?"

"I went over there to force her to talk to me, she was still hurt, she's so damn stubborn and she didn't take her pills and we talked. We were both exhausted and she didn't want to be alone and...well neither did I, but..."

"Jayje, I've been telling you since Emily came here, she's special, you like her, you probably love her and if you weren't so thickheaded you would just enjoy it and be happy."

JJ sighed. "This is not what I wanted you to say."

"Well tough, I love you Gumdrop, but you can be an idiot sometimes."

"Garcia!"

"Jayje, its really simple, do you love her?" Garcia asked with a soft voice. JJ paused. She didn't actually know how to respond to that. "Don't think about it Jayje, just answer the question."

"Garcia, I don't know."

"What's your favorite color?"

"Huh?" JJ asked, confused.

"Answer the question, what's your favorite color?"

"Blue."

"Favorite ice cream flavor?"

"Mint chocolate chip."

"Favorite food?"

"Pizza."

"Mother's name?"

"Garcia..."

"Mother's name?"

"Mary."

"What's Reid's favorite show?"

"Doctor Who."

"Do you love Emily?"

"Yes." JJ froze. She hadn't even realized she answered that. Garcia was squealing on the other end of the line. "You sly little..." JJ said through gritted teeth.

"YOU LOVE HER!" Garcia yelled in excitement. "I knew it, I knew it, I KNEW IT!"

"I hate you." JJ growled as she pulled up to her apartment.

"Oh you do not, now that that matter is settled, I have a few more hours of sleep to catch up on, go cuddle with your girl."

"I left."

"What!"

"I freaked out, I left."

"Jennifer Jareau!"

"I wrote her a note and made coffee."

"Well, that's something. Jayje...you gotta stop being scared, I know commitment freaks you out, but seriously? I've never seen you happier than when your with Emily, or thinking about Emily, so just freaking be happy and let me get some sleep."

JJ sighed. "Bye Garcia."

"Night Jayje."

JJ hung up the phone and went into her apartment. Dropping her keys on her table, she went upstairs to shower. She loved Emily. Sneaky little Garcia. God, what was she going to do? What if Emily didn't feel that way yet? _Fuck_. JJ thought. _I'm screwed_. She was not going to tell Emily how she felt, not until she knew she felt the same, or at least not until they went on another date. JJ climbed out of the shower and got dressed. She still had a few hours before she needed to head into work. Trying to focus on anything other than what she felt about Emily, JJ decided to search through her files, maybe find a case before heading into work.

* * *

><p>Emily woke up alone. Frowning, she rolled over and groaned at the pain in her head. She sat up and caught sight of a coffee mug and a note on her bedside table. Emily reached out and picked up the coffee, it was cold. Turning to see what time it was, Emily realized she only had about an hour to get ready and get into work. <em>Shit<em>. She thought as she sat up further. Grabbing the note, she read it as she downed the cold coffee. She wouldn't have time to make more anyway.

_Em, _

_ You need to change that bandage again. I made you coffee. You still owe me a date, I'll see you at work. _

_ JJ. _

Emily smiled, set the note down and went to jump in the shower. Changing her bandage proved to be slightly more difficult than she anticipated. She winced as she pulled it off in one quick move. The cut was no longer bleeding, but the bruise around it was disgusting and extremely painful. Emily quickly just placed on a new gauze pad and ran out to her car. Driving much faster than she probably should, she got to the bureau in record time.

"Ouch, Prentiss, that looks nasty." Morgan said as he caught sight of her bruise.

"It's fine."

"It looks like a five year old taped you up."

"Shut up."

"Hey." A gentle voice said. Emily grinned as she turned around and met JJ's eyes. The blonde's smile faltered and then looked amused as she noticed Emily's head. "You are never going to have a career in the medical field." She said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh damn, I wanted it so bad." Emily answered her with a laugh.

"Come on, I'll fix it." JJ said. Emily followed JJ up to her office and let her fix the gauze. "God Em, this looks awful."

"Gee, you sure know how to make a girl feel special." Emily said sarcastically. JJ chuckled. "Thanks." Emily said sincerely.

"For what?"

"Staying last night."

Emily caught the panicked look on JJ's face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. "No problem." The blonde said with a smile. "You still owe me a date though, that doesn't count."

Emily laughed. "No, I hadn't meant for it to. Are you free tonight?"

JJ beamed. "I think I can pencil you in."

"Good."

* * *

><p>JJ couldn't help but grin as she walked into her office. She and Emily had another fantastic date the night before. They had been eating together almost every night that week, but nothing fancy. Emily had surprised her and taken them out to a dinner theater show, which JJ ended up loving. Ever since their second date, things had been going wonderfully; both in and outside of work.<p>

"You got laid." Garcia said frankly as she walked by JJ.

"What!" JJ yelped.

"You've got that, 'I got some' last night glow."

"Garcia..." JJ looked around to see if anyone was listening in, her office door was wide open and Garcia's voice traveled.

"Well?"

"I am not talking about this with you."

"Oh, come on, I'm single, I need to live vicariously through you."

"No. We have a case, come on."

"Jayje, give me _something_ here."

JJ gathered up her files and frowned at Garcia. As she walked past her bubbly blonde friend she paused. "Emily Prentiss is a woman with many talents." She whispered in Garcia's ear. "And we have a case." And then headed out to the conference room, leaving a grinning Garcia behind her.

"The Halpert family." JJ began, flicking through the photos on the computer. "They were murdered in their home last night, in the Denver suburb of Cherry Creek. Its the third home invasion of this type in the last month."

"They kill everyone?" Hotch asked.

"Parents, kids, pets if they have them. Always families, nice neighborhoods."

"What do they take?" Morgan asked.

"Nothing that can't fit in their pockets, cash, jewelry..." JJ trailed off.

"There's hundreds of ways to get cash and jewels without killing entire families." Hotch stated. JJ, and everyone else agreed with him. While Morgan and Reid discussed the uptake in home invasions JJ kept her eyes on her files. "You know it's bad if they're asking us back." Hotch said, catching JJ's attention.

"Back?" She asked.

"Things went bad after the JonBenet Ramsey case when a couple of agents publicly criticized local detectives." Hotch explained.

"They didn't need us to make them look bad." Morgan stated.

"And that was in Boulder?" JJ asked.

"Yeah, but the state wide media ran with it and it took on a life of its own." Hotch said with a grim face.

"Well I talked to a Lieutenant Nellis, trust me they want out help." JJ stressed.

"They need it." Emily spoke up for the first time. JJ glanced over at her in question. "The first two invasions were twenty days apart, this last one was just nine days later." Emily explained.

"So they're killing in faster cycles, acquiring a taste." Morgan said, agreeing with Emily.

"And getting better at it every time." Hotch said. JJ glanced at the photos again and met Emily's eye. The ones with kids always sucked the worst. Giving her a small nod, she went to gather her things and follow Emily to the jet, linking their hands together with a small smile.

* * *

><p>Emily followed Hotch into the crime scene as soon as they had settled in.<p>

"No sign of forced entry." The detective said as they walked them through the house.

"Same as the other two houses right?" Emily asked him. He nodded. Emily moved over to Hotch, who was standing by the open front door.

"So its late and the doorbell rings, I come over and I flip the switch..." Hotch tried, but the light didn't turn on. Confused, he stepped out and twisted the bulb with a cloth and it turned on.

"They made it dark. No one sees anything if they're walking by." Emily said. Hotch walked back inside and closed the door.

"But I can still see through the peephole." Shutting the door and peering through, he could still see outside. "If you look like trouble I might not let you in, but if you look non threatening, maybe I open up."

"So the occupants either knew them or they lied their way in." Emily said, thinking out loud.

Hotch nodded. "With this kind of overkill there is usually a history."

"Right." Emily agreed as they walked over to the still bloody couches. "If it was just about eliminating witnesses, they never would have been so vicious." Looking down at the couch she grimaced, her eyes immediately replacing the empty spaces with the bludgeoned bodies from the photographs. "This is rage."

"You think they knew the family?" The detective asked her.

"Its possible."

"And then there's the kids, tucked in, quiet, orderly, controlled..." Hotch trailed off.

"Speaks to an introvert, with some capacity for remorse." Emily said, going off Hotch's ideas. "Two profiles." She looked to Hotch.

"Two unsubs." He agreed with her. Looking to the detective, he asked, "have these chairs been moved?"

"No, its all how we found it."

Emily watched as Hotch walked over to the two chairs sitting side by side in the living room. Clearly out of place, looking around they seemed to belong at the diner table. "So they've been positioned to face the area where the parents were killed. Every thing's been cleared out like a stage." Hotch stated.

Realizing what he was getting at, Emily couldn't help but feel slightly sick. "It's entertainment. They sit and watch the parents die." Emily had a feeling this case was not going to have a good ending.

Back at the police station they conversed with Garcia, realizing the unsubs had jammed the phone lines. There was nothing to connect the families; different social status, different schools, etc. They seemed to be picking their victims at random. Emily sighed in frustration and looked over at JJ, who gave her a smile. They were sitting next to each other, and Emily felt JJ reach out under the table and give her hand a small squeeze. Gratefully, Emily smiled back.

The other officers gathered around as the team gave them the profile. "We're looking for two men, probably white given the neighborhoods that they've hit. Mid to late twenties, intelligent and organized." Hotch began.

"These are career criminals, one or both has done hard time but neither presents as so. They would appear clean shaven, well dressed..." Morgan went on.

"Neighborly." Emily added for him. "This helps them talk their way into the homes, they may also be using a ruse."

"What kind of ruse?" A detective asked.

"Giving that the invasions take place in the evening, it could be anything, door to door sales, person in distress, car trouble..." Hotch said.

"Uh, Derek Todd Lee, used a tape of a baby crying to get women to open their doors in Baton Rouge, never underestimate their creativity." Reid explained.

"These men share a very tight bond, and a mutual compulsion to kill, but their signatures reveal two very distinct personalities." Emily spoke up.

"One brutalizes the parents, this is the dominant one, sadistic, remorseless, extremely volatile." Hotch said.

"The other prefers a needle. His injections are consistent with an angel of death, he's more withdrawn, sensitive and he has a warped sense of mercy." Emily added.

"Agent Morgan is passing out a list of places he might have access to the drugs he uses, its long but..."

JJ ran in next to Emily, interrupting Hotch. "Hotch, there's been another one and they're sending an ambulance." She said in slight distress.

Emily turned to her and instinctively stuck her hands out towards JJ before pulling them back. "An ambulance?" She asked. JJ looked to her and nodded. "There's a survivor." Emily shared a look with JJ as Hotch told them to go talk to the girl.

* * *

><p>JJ and Emily followed the doctor as he explained how lucky Carrie was to be alive. The injection had missed her vein.<p>

"That's a first." Emily said as they walked, JJ slightly behind the two of them. "This guy doesn't miss."

"Like I said, she's lucky." The doctor stated again.

"Is she conscious?" JJ asked.

"She's in and out, keep in mind she's suffering the effects of an acute barbiturate overdose, she's drowsy, confused."

"Given what's happened, that's probably best." Emily stated with a grimace. JJ couldn't help but agree with her girlfriend. She couldn't imagine being sixteen and watching her entire family be killed right in front of her. JJ took a deep breath before she and Emily entered the hospital room. She was not looking forward to this at all. JJ introduced them and went to go sit in the empty chair beside the bed while Emily remained standing. They listened as the girl told them what had happened.

"I went to get a bag, and when I got back there were two of them." She practically whispered.

"What did the other one look like?" Emily asked her gently.

"Heavier, hispanic, quiet, he never looked straight ahead."

"What do you mean?" JJ asked in a soft voice.

"Like...a few times I felt him staring at me, when I looked at him he always looked away."

JJ glanced up to Emily as she spoke. "Avoiding eye contact?"

The girl only nodded and continued. "Then my dad came in from the study and they...jumped him. They made Danny call for my mom, then they tied them up. And...and then one of them went over and got the thing from the fireplace and started hitting them with it...They made us watch." Seeing that she was getting upset – as was Emily – JJ leaned over and gently spoke to the girl. "Okay you know what we can take a break now..." She started to get up but the girl cut her off.

"No! You need this right?" She asked, her eyes full of tears. JJ could only nod because the truth was they _did_ need this information. JJ just wished they didn't have to make her relive everything to get it. JJ sat back down as Carrie finished. "After a while, the quiet one took Danny away, and the other one just started going through drawers looking for stuff. Then I ran."

JJ and Emily said goodbye to Carrie and headed out of the hospital. "God, that poor girl." Emily stated with a groan as they walked out. JJ noticed that Emily had been upset as Carrie spoke. She reached out and took her hand, giving her back a rub. They got into the car and headed back to the station, they needed to find these men and fast.

The next morning, JJ and Emily went to the station together after a sleepless night. Cases always made for little sleep and JJ snatched up some coffee the second she could. Making a cup for Emily and bringing it with her as the team met. JJ mentioned that Carrie had said that the two men referred to each other as brothers; and Emily reminded them that the hispanic one didn't speak spanish. The team concluded that they may have been adopted. JJ watched as Emily grimaced at the thought of releasing the information that Carrie survived. She could tell that this case was taking more of a toll on Emily than usual. She had to admit, she would be very happy when it was over with.

* * *

><p>Emily stood in the hospital waiting for JJ to return. She had gone to get some clothes for Carrie and Emily felt better with the extra security Hotch had allowed for her. Something about this case was getting to her. Glancing up, she saw JJ tiredly heading over to her, a pink duffle bag slung over one shoulder. Emily smiled at the sight. Maybe it was hard to have relationships in their line of work, but having JJ there made her feel better and even tired, god was she beautiful. The blonde gave her a tight smile and a tiny wave.<p>

"Hey, so Carrie's been cleared to go." Emily told her. She watched as JJ's face fell a little.

"Well, I wish she had somewhere to go." She answered with a frown.

"Ughh, no luck with the LA thing?" Emily asked angrily. JJ shook her head. "Can't this girl catch a break?" She stated as they slowly headed up to Carrie's room. JJ looked just as upset at the situation as Emily was. Hearing Carrie scream, Emily and JJ looked at each other briefly, then took off running. JJ was faster, she dropped the bag and ran to comfort the girl. Emily went to the other side of the bed and watched as JJ took Carrie in her arms and calmed her down.

"It was just a dream." JJ said as she held Carrie and looked at Emily.

"I'm okay." Carrie mumbled a minute later, JJ released her, but stayed close. Unsure and feeling awkward, Emily said the only thing she could think off.

"We uh...we brought you a change of clothes."

"I didn't know what to grab you, so I just got three of every thing." JJ said, giving Carrie a light laugh. While JJ stayed bent down near Carrie, Emily stood up and glanced around the room. There were flowers everywhere.

"Looks like a flower shop in here." She stated.

"Yeah they umm...they all started coming in after the news broadcast." Carrie answered her. Emily stared as she recognized some of the flowers from the crime scene. Giving JJ a look, they said goodbye to Carrie and headed out to inform the team.

"The exact same floral arrangement was in the Ortiz living room." She told Hotch after they had retuned to the police station.

"Could be a coincidence." He said.

"Or the sender was in the house, associated it with her?"

"No note?" He asked.

"No, just a blank card from the floral shop." Emily said.

"Get Garcia to track the delivery and Reid's got something for us when your done." He said as he left the room.

Emily pulled out her phone and dialed Garcia's number. "Hey Garcia it's Em..."

"Why cats?" She asked, cutting her off slightly.

"Sorry?"

"Evil has no boundaries!"

"Well, for what its worth I think they go peacefully?" Emily said with a wince. Garcia didn't really seem all that cheered up or comforted.

"Ughh, how do we catch these guys?" She asked.

"Back trace a flower delivery for me?" Emily could already hear Garcia typing away as she spoke.

"So, I heard you are a woman of many talents." Garcia said in a coy voice.

"What!" Emily asked. "Garcia, I don't..."

"Don't you play dumb with me. JJ had a glow yesterday and so did you, you two have consummated this wonderful relationship of yours haven't you!"

Shocked and embarrassed Emily fiddled with her pen. "Garcia, I don't kiss and tell."

"You and JJ are both no fun." Garcia pouted.

"She said I had many talents?" Emily asked, somewhat amused and proud, also slightly mortified.

"Yes she did. She seemed quite happy about it."

"Okay, focus Garcia, flowers, cats being killed, murders to solve."

"Eww, ruin my day why don't you!"

Emily laughed. "Sorry."

"No you're not! Okay, I got your guy, paid with a credit card, name is Ron Surano."

"Thanks! Bye Garcia."

"Adios."

Emily looked up as JJ brought Carrie into the police station. They had found the Surano family murdered once they got there. Luckily, Garcia had been able to pull nine names of foster kids who had done time and had access to small animals and the drug. Carrie was coming in to look at them. Emily stood next to her as she pointed to one picture.

"Kay, that's eh uh, Ervin Ropeless." Morgan said reading off the list.

Emily noticed Carrie tearing up as she grabbed her coat. Placing a hand on her shoulder, she leaned in. "Your parents would be really proud of you." She said with a smile.

"It's too late to be a good daughter now." She said, not looking Emily in the eye.

Horrified, Emily leaned in closer. "Oh that's not true." She tried to reassure the girl.

"I was horrible to them, and now they're gone." Emily didn't know what to say. "Why did they do it?" Carrie asked her. "I mean there has to be a reason right?"

"Oh, you'll drive yourself crazy trying to figure out the reason."

"I go crazy every time I close my eyes."

"It may have something to do with what happened to them when they were younger." Emily explained to her.

"What like, they were abused or something?"

"There's a good chance."

"Are there any happy families?" Carrie asked her in a small voice. Emily didn't have an answer for her. If she was honest, she didn't know any, hers certainly hadn't be idilic. Looking up, she saw JJ watching the two of them. She didn't know how long the blonde had been there, but from the look on her face, she probably heard the entire conversation. Rubbing Carrie's back, Emily gave her a soft smile before she left to go with Hotch to try and find Ervin. She wished she could give Carrie a better answer than that.

His apartment had been empty and he was off work for the weekend. After asking his manager to call and have him come in, they went to his old foster home.

"My God! Ervin? I mean he had behavioral problems, they all do, but nothing we couldn't handle." His foster mom stated.

"And he hasn't been acting alone, he's got a partner." Hotch told her.

"Perhaps someone else who grew up in your care?" Emily asked. She noticed a young boy walk into the kitchen quietly and stand by the fridge.

"Tyler!" The woman chided. "The adults are talking here."

"I just want some milk." The boy said quietly. Emily and Hotch looked over and saw locks on the refrigerator. Shocked, Emily shared a look with Hotch. "Can you open the fridge?" He asked.

"You know the rules." She answered him. That's when Emily noticed the key hanging around the woman's neck. The boy walked out of the room, dejected. "They'll eat you out of house and home if you let them." She said to Emily and Hotch with a small laugh. Emily licked her lip and mashed them together to stop herself from yelling at the woman.

"Is there anyone Ervin was especially close to?" She asked.

"Someone he would have looked up to, someone who would have protected him?" Hotch asked, his face remaining stoic. The woman seemed to remember something.

"Gary." She said. She lead them over to a wall of photos and took one down. "We tried with him, but he tested us."

"Have you kept in touch with him?" Hotch asked.

"Oh god no. Gary left the day he turned eighteen, he never looked back. Ervin was a mess when he got here, been separated from a younger sister."

"Where did she go?" Emily asked.

"Nobody told me, siblings get separated all the time." She said nonchalantly. "But, they find new ones here."

"Like Ervin and Gary?" Hotch asked. The woman nodded. She told them that the girls name had been Lucy, the same thing Carrie had said he called her. Hotch answered his cell phone and Morgan told them they had Ervin in custody. Emily and Hotch headed back to the police station. Ervin wasn't talking to anyone. Without him, they had no way of finding Gary. Emily reminded them that kids who grow up like Ervin are incapable or forming attachments, they weren't going to have any luck getting his trust. Emily had an idea, and she hated it.

* * *

><p>JJ walked along with Emily as Hotch explained to Carrie what was going on. This was a horrible idea.<p>

"Remember he'll be in handcuffs you'll have nothing to worry about." He said as Carrie nodded.

"And I will be in there with you." Emily told her.

"Okay."

JJ sighed. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to Carrie." She stressed.

"I do." She said, nodding.

"Remember we're interested in Gary, where he is, his next move..." Hotch told her. JJ bit her bottom lip in frustration.

"I will keep him on point about that Carrie, just try your best to keep him engaged." Emily told her. JJ stood between them with her hands on her hips angrily. The second Hotch led Carrie away, she grabbed Emily's arm and stopped her.

"Okay, I'm sorry, can we just stop and think about this for a minute?" She asked her girlfriend angrily. She knew this had been Emily's idea and she couldn't fathom why. Emily reached out and rubbed JJ's arm in an attempt to calm her down, but it didn't make her feel any better.

"I'm sure she'll be okay." Emily said.

"She's a kid! What is she trying to prove here?"

JJ watched as Emily's face fell a little. "That she can be a good daughter." She said in a soft voice. JJ felt her face soften a little. She had heard the entire conversation Carrie and Emily had had earlier and she understood. She still hated it, but she understood.

JJ watched with Hotch, Morgan and the detective from behind the mirror. Her arms crossed and her focus shifting from Emily, to Carrie and then back again. As Carrie began to grow more angry and distressed, JJ bit her lip and shifted her weight. Sometimes, she really hated being the one who watched. Emily tried to get control over Carrie, but the girl yelled out at Ervin.

"What happened to you that was so bad?" She asked. JJ watched as Emily grabbed Carrie's hand and the girl listened to Ervin.

"She used to make it go dark. That's what we called it. She would put me in the bath...to pray, and then she'd hold my head down under the water. Sometimes I could stay awake...for like a minute, sometimes a little more. But then it would all go dark." JJ watched on horrified as Ervin cried.

"They've still got kids in that house." Morgan stated angrily.

"Let's call DCFS see if we can get them out." Hotch told him.

JJ watched as Carrie leaned forward and took one of Ervin's hands. "What is she doing?" She asked Hotch worriedly. Emily almost reached forward to stop her, but it seemed to have the desired effect.

"She can't hurt you anymore." Carrie whispered to him.

"I wanted to stop!" Ervin said to Emily. "But Gary, he...he went through it way, way worse when we were kids and he...he never got the chance to fight back."

"So he fought those other families?" Emily asked.

Ervin nodded, still holding Carrie's hand. "Only because I wouldn't go back."

"Back?" Emily asked. JJ could see the wheels turning in her mind. "Gary's going back to your foster home isn't he?" She asked. Ervin nodded and Carrie immediately retracted her hand. Emily looked back at the mirror and JJ and Morgan both moved quickly as Hotch told them to get him out of there. Carrie began crying and Emily wrapped her up in a hug, rubbing her hair and telling her she did a good job. JJ pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Thankfully, this was almost over.

Emily and Hotch had gone to the school, Gary had taken the kids almost twenty minutes ago. Reid called and told him that they found Gary and the boy in a diner. They quickly headed over there as Reid told them she gave him a note saying he will kill the boy. JJ waited scared and confused as Gary released Tyler and walked out of the diner, giving himself up.

* * *

><p>Emily waited by the car with the two kids as Morgan talked angrily to social services. She grew just as angry as he told her that they had to take the kids home. Social services had to hold a full investigation before they could remove them. Emily wanted to punch something, these kids were being abused and they had to go back to it.<p>

"This sucks." She said as the kids walked into the house. Morgan's phone rang just as they were putting on their seat belts.

"Backpacks? No why? Why would we search the backpacks?" Morgan asked as they heard two gunshots go off in the house. Shocked and full of adrenaline, Emily and Morgan bolted into the house, guns drawn. "Tyler!" He yelled. "Drop that gun!" Emily looked around quickly and saw the foster mother on the ground.

"Are you hurt?" She asked, secretly hoping she a least had a cut or something for all she'd done to these kids.

"No." She said, cowering on the floor. Emily looked up at the wall of photos, there were bullet holes through some of them.

"They're lies." Tyler said quietly.

"I know." Morgan said. "But you could have come in here, and you could have made her pay, and you didn't because you're good. You're not Gary. You're nothing like him." Morgan held his hands up and holstered his gun, much to Emily's horror. She hated being the only one with a gun on Tyler. If he made a move toward Morgan, she would have to shot a child. She did not want that responsibility on her shoulders. "Let's make a deal, you give me that gun, and I promise you I will walk you out of here and you will never have to come back. Sound pretty good?" Tyler was crying and nodded. Morgan walked forward slowly and took the gun. Emily quickly grabbed it from him as he wrapped Tyler up into a hug. Shaking, she walked outside.

As she and Hotch gathered up the last remaining files from the case, Emily spoke what she had been thinking secretly for almost two days now. "I could take her." She said, somewhat shyly.

"Take her?" He asked confused.

"Carrie, to DC." She said with a smile.

"You mean to live with you?"

"Yeah."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Well, I have room, money and you know she's smart, two, three years, she goes to college!" Emily said somewhat excitedly. Truthfully, she had been thinking about all sorts of things they could do. She could show Carrie that their could be happy families.

"Prentiss." He said in a tight voice. "This is the job, and I need to know that you can be objective."

Emily's face faltered slightly. She paused before answering him, a little more angrily than she intended. "And I need to know that I can be human." She wasn't about to let this job compromise who she was.

Hotch hesitated a moment and Emily duck her head down, stacking files. "JJ heard back from the family and they're on their way from LA." He said softly.

Emily felt her face drop. "Oh." She looked down and tried to collect herself. Giving a soft – very unconvincing – laugh she tried not to appear disappointed. "That's...that's great." Emily refused to look Hotch in the eye as they finished collecting their things and headed out to the jet. Emily just prayed he wouldn't tell anyone, least of all JJ.

* * *

><p>"Please tell me they stocked the bar." Morgan said as he and JJ boarded the jet after Reid. Hotch was sitting in a corner on the phone, JJ gave him a small nod of thanks and walked forward.<p>

"I called ahead" She said with a smile to Morgan. Seeing Emily sitting alone staring out the window, JJ headed straight for her. Hotch had mentioned their conversation earlier, but JJ had already picked up on what Emily was feeling long before. Sliding coyly into the seat across from Emily, she was greeted with a tiny smile. Emily wouldn't meet her eyes, JJ leaned back against the window and propped her legs up. "You okay?" She asked gently.

Emily looked up like she was caught daydreaming. "Yeah." She answered, rather unconvincingly. JJ nodded and kept a soft smile on her face. Emily almost immediately turned her attention to back out the window as JJ watched her.

"They're good people, Carrie's family." JJ explained. She had seen how Emily connected with the teenager and truthfully, it made her love her even more.

"Good, I'm glad." Emily said. Once again, she turned her attention to back out the window. JJ shifted her weight slightly and brought her hand up to her mouth, watching Emily for a moment. She had yet to say 'I love you' to Emily. She had come very, very, close on more than once occasion and almost caught Emily doing the same thing. JJ was going to tell her tonight. Deciding the jet was not the place, not with the whole team there, she needed something else to tell her girlfriend now. Something that reassured the brunette. Something that spoke of commitment.

"I think its a good idea though." She said softly.

Emily lifted her head away from the window and rested it on the seat behind her. "What's that?" She asked JJ.

"You...kids...I can see it." JJ smiled as Emily's eyes lit up and then looked back to JJ, unsure.

"Yeah?" She asked. JJ just stared at her, smiled and nodded. She watched as Emily beamed and looked back out the widow, turning back to JJ every few minutes as they flew home. Each time, JJ just smiled and stayed quiet, relaxing in the moment.


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay guys here we go, we have jumped ahead. This is set in the beginning of season 4 (we were just at around the beginning of season 3). JJ and Em have been dating for over a year. You're going to get a few flashbacks and mentions of what has been going on in the chapters. Thanks for all the feedback, keep it coming, and hope you enjoy!**

JJ was shaking with fury. She saw Hotch glance up and tell her something but she barley heard him. "You need to see this." She said in a cold voice as she punched away at the laptop. Hotch, Morgan and Rossi all surrounded her in seconds looking on at what she was talking about. JJ stood up and ran her fingers roughly through her hair in frustration as they watched the reporter she specifically told to shut the fuck up tell the world that there were two undercover FBI agents in the ranch. Emily and Reid had been safe under the assumption that they were simply two social service workers and knew nothing about the raid. Now though...now JJ felt sick. Hotch started to say something but JJ ignored him and stomped over to her car. "I'm going to kill him." She practically growled. JJ sped out of their assigned area and down to where she knew the reporter had been filming. This was bullshit. Only a few weeks ago they had all almost died at the hands of terrorists in New York. When JJ couldn't get Emily on the phone then she thought she could never be so scared, apparently she could.

JJ hit the brakes full on and the SUV squealed to a stop right in front of the reporter and his crew. She heard him yell in protest and was very glad she had left her gun, because she might have actually used it. "YOU DUMB SHIT!" She screamed at him as she jumped out of the car. JJ barley noticed as the camera crew backed away slightly in fear as she quickly approached the reporter. "Do you have ANY idea what you just did?"

"Reported the news. People deserve to know what's going on." He said defensively.

JJ mashed her lips together in an attempt to calm herself down. It didn't work. "You may very well have just gotten two agents killed by releasing that information. Murdered. That is on _you_. Do. Not. Report another word until this is all over. Do you fucking understand me?" JJ spat out as she moved closer into the man. He was clearly distressed.

"Okay, sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough you fuck, you may have just killed my fiancée ." JJ jumped back her her SUV and drove quickly back to the rest of her team. She knew that she had been unprofessional, but to be honest, she didn't regret it at all. She had already told the reporter to stop beforehand, he didn't listen, fuck him.

As JJ pulled up to the team she noticed each of the mean visibly distressed. "What happened!" She asked worriedly as she ran up to Hotch. When he couldn't seem to answer JJ reached out to grab a pair of headphones of her own. Morgan tried to stop her.

"No JJ, don't listen to that." He begged.

"What is it?" She looked at the faces of her three team members, none of them answered her. "WHAT IS IT?" She yelled and reached around to snatch the headphones from Morgan. Placing them over her ears her heart broke as she heard Emily say, "I can take it" and then her clearly getting beaten.

JJ doubled over as the tears began to flow. "We have to go in!" She stressed. Hotch clearly agreed with her, but Rossi was remaining calm.

"No, she's talking to us. Telling us not to come in." He said. Cyrus finished beating Emily and JJ wanted to be anywhere else. Morgan threw his headphones at the table in anger and walked away. Hotch bent over, clearly feeling as horrible as the rest of them. JJ had to sit down or she was sure she might fall over.

"What about Reid?" She whispered after a moment. She needed to focus. She needed to finish this, they had to get Emily out of there.

"Emily said she was the only agent. Reid's still in the church. He's okay as far as we know." Rossi explained. JJ nodded. Of course. Emily is the hero. It was one of the things JJ loved about her, and also one of the things she hated. JJ shook her head and took a deep breath. "Okay, what do we do now?" She asked calmly.

* * *

><p>Emily allowed herself to be dragged back into the church. God everything hurt! Once JJ saw her she was going to kill her. Emily listened on as Cyrus began talking, he was releasing all the people who cried when they thought they had taken poison. Reid approached her and she told him what she thought. Catching the younger profiler staring at her face in distress she shook it off. "Its not as bad as it looks." She said off handily. Truthfully? Everything fucking hurt, but she would be fine, they needed to finish this and get out of here. These kids didn't deserve to die because of a crazy man, not to mention she didn't want JJ to worry any more than she probably already was.<p>

As Emily was taken back to the room she had been held in she was cuffed again and left alone. What she wouldn't give for a scalding hot shower with JJ right now. She smiled as she thought of her blonde fiancée. Fiancée. That title was pretty new, even in the middle of a hostage situation it caused Emily to smile.

_Emily paced back and forth in her apartment nervously playing with the box in her hands. She was going to ask JJ to marry her. Oh fuck! She had never been more terrified in her life. JJ practically lived at her apartment, had for months now. Emily had gotten Morgan to stall JJ at work for her so she could mentally prepare herself. She didn't want everything to be too corny or too big. JJ knew she had money, but she didn't like Emily to spend a lot on her. A fact that drove Emily crazy. But, she had kept it simple, well, besides the ring, but JJ didn't need to know that. She had wine, a few candles, some roses, nothing over the top. She hadn't dressed up, in fact, she was wearing an oversized t-shirt of JJ's and some leggings. She thought about dressing up, but than JJ would know something was up and Emily wanted to surprise her. A few candles and a couple of flowers weren't out of the norm, but if Emily was wearing a slinky black dress, JJ would get suspicious. _

_Hearing a car door slam Emily's breath hitched in her throat. She fiddled with the box again before stuffing it out of sight and taking a deep breath. JJ bounded in, tired from a long day and Emily grinned at the sight. She never seemed to get tired of looking at the blonde. "Hi." She greeted her with a smile and a small kiss. _

"_Hi yourself." JJ said, grinning as well. "You did that didn't you?"_

"_Did what?" _

"_Morgan, you made him keep me at work."_

"_I have no idea what you're..."_

"_He cracked." JJ said with a devilish grin. _

"_What!"_

"_He couldn't get me to stay, so he told me you asked him to 'cause you had a surprise." _

"_Oh." Emily said. Thank god he didn't actually spill. "That worthless bastard." She joked. _

"_It's okay, I showed him a surprise of my own I have." JJ said coyly as she wrapped her arms around Emily's neck. Emily watched excitedly as JJ wriggled her eyebrows and beamed. _

"_Oh really?" _

"_Yup." _

"_Want to change first?"_

"_God yes." JJ groaned. She placed a quick kiss on Emily's cheek and ran upstairs. Emily just shook her head in amusement as she watched her girlfriend go. She checked every possible thing they would need obsessively. Once more she took out the little box and opened it. God she hoped JJ said yes. She knew commitment freaked her out. Staring at the ring and rehearsing what she was going to say, Emily didn't notice the blonde sneaking back down the stairs, changed into sweats and a t-shirt. "You have got to be kidding me!" JJ yelled. _

_Emily whipped around and dropped the box in shock as she saw the look of fury growing on JJ's face. Shit. She thought. "JJ!" Emily stumbled to pick the ring up and hide it behind her back, in some hope that the blonde hadn't actually seen it yet. "I...you...umm...shit." JJ stalked down the rest of the stairs, her anger only growing as she made her way to Emily. Before Emily could say anything, JJ revealed a little box of her own and shoved it in front of Emily's face._

"_I was gonna ask you!" She yelled. "No wonder Morgan started laughing after I told him!" Emily just stared down at the ring in front of her. It was simple and beautiful, everything Emily would want. She looked back at JJ's angry face and broke into laughter. After a second, JJ joined in and they laughed until they couldn't breathe. Motioning for JJ to sit down Emily sat next to her. _

"_This...well I don't know what this is, but its funny." Emily said. _

"_Yeah, you could say that." JJ agreed as she reached for the wine. She handed over a glass to Emily and placed her ring in front of it. "You didn't answer my question though." She said with a smirk. _

"_I wasn't asked one. I was yelled at if I recall correctly." Emily said with a smirk of her own as she placed JJ's ring in front of her. _

"_Emily, will you marry me?" _

"_Only if you'll marry me?"_

_Both women frowned at each other, each wanting the other to answer first. They stared each other down for a few minutes grinning. They knew the others answer now. It was just a matter of who broke first. Seeing JJ was not relenting, Emily smiled. She leaned in and kissed JJ deeply. As she pulled back she whispered, "yes." JJ beamed, wrapped her arms around Emily's neck and pulled her back in for a second kiss. _

"_Yes to your question as well." She grinned. Emily beamed. _

Emily had gotten the message from Morgan – or whichever agent it had been – that the team would be coming in at three am. She was worried that she had made a mistake telling Kathy. Sitting there, cuffed and waiting she would be lying if she said that she wasn't freaking out a little. As Kathy ran into the room, Emily released a sigh of relief.

"I told Jessica Cyrus wants all of the women and children in the basement." She said as she began releasing Emily's bindings.

"Where is the man I came in with?" Emily asked worriedly.

"In the chapel with Cyrus."

Emily ran with Kathy and got all of the children and women into the basement, every movement made her wince in pain. She felt her eyes go wide with relief as she saw Morgan and Rossi.

"Emily!" Morgan yelled running to her.

"They're using explosives. Reid's still in the chapel." Emily started to move back with the other officers, but Morgan stopped her.

"Emily you've got to get out of here."

"No, we've got to get Reid!"

"I will get him. Emily." He forced Emily to look at him. "I will get Reid. There is a certain blonde outside who will murder me if you don't get out there now. So please, for my own safety, get out of here."

Emily gave a small laugh and with a nod, allowed herself to be lead out by Rossi.

* * *

><p>JJ paced back in forth in front of the ranch with Hotch. They watched as the children and women all started pouring out quickly. Standing up on her tip toes, JJ searched for Emily. All of the sudden there was a blast and half of the ranch went up in flames. JJ felt herself – and many others – scream. Terrified she scanned the ranch, Emily, Reid, Morgan and Rossi had yet to come out. She almost screamed with relief as she saw Rossi pulling along a slightly limping and choking Emily. JJ ran forward and enveloped herself into Emily tightly, hearing her wince. "Shit." She loosened her grip.<p>

"No, I'm okay." Emily stressed. JJ felt the brunette cling to her, but turn and look worriedly back at the flaming ranch. "They're not out yet?" She asked.

"Not yet." JJ said, trying to inspect every bruise and cut on her fiancée. Both women released the breaths they had been holding as Morgan and Reid came stumbling out of the ranch, a little shaken, but looking unhurt. JJ released her grip on Emily and let her go up and hug Reid. As Morgan approached her, she wrapped herself into him tightly. "Thank you for bringing her back. Both of them." She whispered.

"Anytime Jayje." He said giving her a tight hug and a smile. Emily had let go of Reid and walked back down to JJ, a tight smile on her face. JJ took her hand and without a word dragged her over to get checked out by the EMTs.

"Emily Prentiss. I might murder you one of these days."

Emily smiled at her and allowed JJ to force her to sit down. She didn't even push the EMT away as he began examining her. "Nah, then you'd be all alone."

"I hate you." JJ said with a childlike pout.

"You love me." Emily said back grinning.

"Yes, I do love you. But right now I'm mad at you."

"Okay." Emily never stopped smiling at JJ. She could tell the brunette was in pain, but she wouldn't show it. Once the EMT finished JJ leaned down and pecked Emily on the lips. "I love you too." Emily murmured.

JJ just shook her head and took Emily's hand. "Come on Prentiss, I want to go home."


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, so I may have lied. The original way I had planed to end this story has changed. I had the wedding planed out differently, but while writing...it kind of morphed into something else. Unfortunately for you its shorter...so this is the last chapter of this story... I apologize for lying and I'm sorry to hit you out of nowhere with it, but I hope you enjoy this chapter (and have enjoyed this story regardless). I have the first chapter of the sequel written and posted already:) Its called The Usual Rules, just check on my page. It says in the description its the sequel. Again, thank you all so much for all your feedback and support for this story, I had a lot of fun writing it, and can't wait to dig into the sequel:) It was the story I originally wanted to write, but I wanted to show how Em and JJ got together beforehand. So, thank you and without further ado...**

"Emily are you going to call them?" JJ asked for the fifth time. She looked over at her fiancée and frowned at the brunette who was pacing back and forth, ignoring her. "Em?" JJ prodded. All she got was a glance and then more pacing. "Emily Elizabeth Prentiss!" JJ yelled.

Emily froze and turned to look at JJ. "What?" She asked.

JJ sighed. "Did you hear anything I just said?" Emily shook her head. "Are you going to call your parents?"

"Oh...uh...I was thinking no." Emily said twisting her hands together. JJ frowned and glared at Emily. "JJ, I really don't care if they're at the wedding. They'll just make me uncomfortable and I want to actually enjoy it."

"So will we be having a secret wedding?" JJ asked sarcastically. Emily laughed and flopped down on the couch next to JJ. JJ lifted Emily's legs and placed them on her lap.

"No. I just...JJ you've never met them, you've just got to trust me on this one."

"You don't think they'll like me?"

"They'll hate you." Emily said immediately. JJ couldn't hide the hurt that crossed her face and Emily froze instantly. "JJ, my mother wants me to marry a man, so she will hate you simply because you have the wrong body parts. She'll never get past it. My father just goes along with whatever she says; to him, its not worth the headache."

JJ sat watching Emily as she stared up at the ceiling, refusing meet JJ in the eye. JJ smiled at her and gently flicked the leg in her lap. "Hey, look at me." She said to the brunette. Emily glanced over with a pout on her face that caused JJ to break out into laughter.

"Mean." Emily said, as JJ continued laughing. JJ just smiled and crawled up Emily so she was laying on top of her.

"I'm sorry." She said, still laughing. Emily frowned but the corners of her lips were turned up and she was trying to bite back a smile of her own. "Em, they're your parents. If you don't want them there that is fine with me, its your call."

"Truthfully? My mother will be worse if we don't invite her, I just don't want to hear her nag forever. She'll want to plan all this ridiculous over the top crap, invite all her political friends, it will be a nightmare."

JJ ran circles on Emily's cheek with her finger while she contemplated what the brunette was saying. JJ really didn't care who was there, or what anything looked like as long as they got married. Since she had always been vehemently against commitment, she never pictured or cared about weddings. She kind of hated them. JJ knew Emily was a little more invested, but she also knew for the older woman, it was more about marriage than the wedding. "What if we elope?" JJ asked a minute later.

Emily's head snapped forward almost colliding with JJ's. "What?" She asked.

"Elope." JJ said sitting up so she was straddling Emily rather than acting like a blanket for her. "You know I don't care about weddings, we can invite the team. I'll call my mom and see if she wants to come, cause I'll never hear the end of it if I don't at least give her a heads up; and we can forget all the hassle. Plus, we could do it way sooner!"

Emily sat up, causing JJ to fall backwards slightly. "Are you serious Jayje?"

"Yeah." JJ said with a smile. "Why not? Unless you think its a horrible idea? Then I am totally fine with whatever you or your mom wants."

Emily laughed and wrapped JJ up in a tight hug, practically pulling her up off of the couch. "I think its a fantastic idea! Lets do it tonight!"

"What! Em, no!"

"Tomorrow?"

"Emily!" JJ said with a laugh.

"It was _your _idea!" Emily protested.

"How about this weekend?"

"Okay..."

"Em, that's three days from now."

"Jen, never underestimate my mother. She could find out before then and then find some way to ruin everything." Emily stated seriously.

JJ laughed. "Okay, Saturday, no exceptions and just in case your mother finds out, I'll get Garcia to make up some crazy back up plan. Sound good?"

"Sounds very good." Emily said climbing on top of JJ and planting her with a kiss.

* * *

><p>JJ sipped her coffee happily as she watched Reid swivel around in one of Garcia's chairs. "You guys are really eloping?" He asked again. JJ just nodded while Garcia banged on her keys, planing out everything they would need for the next day. Three days had gone by extremely fast, and once JJ had told Hotch of their plans, he had made sure the team was off rotation for this weekend – and for Emily and JJ – the next few days as well. JJ and Garcia were figuring out all of the wedding stuff, which really wasn't much other than booking hotel rooms for everyone and a place to have the reception. Reid was ecstatic that they would be getting married in his home town. JJ had called her parents and they were a little shocked but happy to come along. JJ was pretty sure that her mother was just happy JJ was actually getting married. When JJ had called her weeks before to tell her that she had proposed – as had Emily – her mother had had a hard time believing her. JJ spent a good four hours on the phone with her talking about how she wasn't freaked out by commitment anymore. She was sick of running when things got tough, or being lonely. Emily made her feel whole, corny or not, she was happy with her, and she trusted her, for JJ, nothing else really mattered.<p>

"Alrighty my loves the wedding of Jennifer Jareau and Emily Prentiss is all good to go! We are all booked in a fabulous looking hotel with the reception being prepared in a ballroom there as we speak!"

"Ballroom? Garcia, its just the team and my parents, we don't need a ballroom."

"Its small, they just call it a ballroom."

"Oh, okay. How expensive is this fabulous hotel?"

"That is top secret information."

"Excuse me?" JJ asked raising her eyebrows. Reid made that little frowny face he always did when uncomfortable and swiveled around away from the two blondes. Garcia just ignored JJ. "Garcia! What do you mean top secret?"

"Emily gave me a limit, I didn't even go anywhere near it!" Garcia yelled. Turning back to her computer she mumbled, "not yet anyway."

"Garcia, I am paying too!"

"No you're not. Its a rule."

"A rule?"

"Yes, made by Emily and your mom."

"My mother! What?"

"Em called her, I dunno, its rule number three. You just have to show up, look stunning, repeat what the priest says, kiss your woman and then dance and have fun. Its very simple really."

JJ pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "I am slightly regretting this decision."

"Marrying Em?" Garcia asked frantically.

"What!" JJ said looking up at her friend. "No! Not at all. Why would you assume that?"

"Well you're a commitment-phobe." Garcia said with a shrug.

"Garcia, we already had this conversation, weeks ago, back before I even proposed."

"I thought Emily proposed." Reid piped up.

JJ glared at him. "I proposed first."

"Only you two would propose to each other at the same time." Garcia said with a laugh.

"It is a pretty funny story." Reid said with a smile. JJ glared at him, but as she got up to refill her coffee, she ruffled his hair lovingly. JJ poured coffee into two cups and handed one to Reid before heading out of Garcia's lair to go find Emily. They were basically done for the day and she wanted to get home and pack. Morgan and Rossi were talking in the break room and each man gave her a nod as she walked past them. Emily was nowhere to be found. JJ headed up to Hotch's office, knocking gently on the doorframe.

"Hey Hotch, have you seen Emily?" She asked.

"She just left, was heading to your office I believe."

"Okay, thanks." JJ turned to leave, but Hotch called out to her.

"JJ?"

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say congratulations and I'm happy for you."

JJ smiled and placed her hands on her hips. "You really are just an old softy."

Hotch looked slightly horrified, but gave JJ a rare smile. "Don't tell anyone." He deadpanned.

JJ smiled and gave him a small wave. She turned around and headed back to her office. Seeing Emily behind her desk, hunched over and frowning at the laptop in front of her, she grinned and sipped her coffee. "Get your own office Prentiss."

Emily looked up like a child caught doing something wrong and laughed. "Hey, so I am looking for honeymoon places. I just talked to Hotch, he gave us the whole week, anywhere you've always wanted to go?"

"Anywhere?"

"Sure."

"Em, are you paying for everyone to stay at some fancy hotel _and_ our honeymoon? Because I was under the assumption that marriage was supposed to be equal."

"I'm not. I'm paying for the honeymoon, its part of my wedding present to you, my mother is paying for everyone's hotel fees and the reception." Emily said with a devilish grin.

"Your mother?" JJ asked as she pushed herself off of the wall and made her way over to Emily. "I thought the whole idea of this was mostly about keeping your mother out of it?"

"It is."

"I'm confused."

Emily wrapped an arm around JJ's waist and pulled her in closer. "My mother set up this fund for me years ago, and she forgot about it. I'm using it to pay for the wedding."

"Oh your very rebellious." JJ said sarcastically. Emily gave her a swat on her hip and went back to her computer.

"So, where do you wanna go Miss Jareau?" She asked.

"I was thinking about that..."

"Tropical?"

"No, not about that..well, yes tropical would be fantastic, but I was thinking about the Jareau thing."

Emily kept her focus on the computer and bit her lip in the adorable way that drove JJ crazy. "Humm...what do you mean?" She asked, scrolling through vacation spots.

"What do you want to do with our last names?"

"Huh?" Emily finally looked up. "Oh, umm, I honestly hadn't really thought about it. Why? What do you want?"

"I wouldn't be upset if I was a Prentiss..." JJ said shyly.

"Really?" Emily said with a laugh. "You want to be a Prentiss? Its not really the greatest family in the world."

JJ shrugged. "I dunno, the one I know is pretty fantastic..." She said with a grin. JJ watched as Emily beamed.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'd keep Jareau professionally, or else work could get confusing, but legally...it would be nice. If you don't mind?"

"I'd kinda love that actually."

"Well good! Get your butt up Prentiss, we've got things to pack and places to be."

"What about the honeymoon?"

"Surprise me, as long as its tropical and your in a bikini, I could care less."

* * *

><p>Emily ran as fast as she could while weighted down with five bags. JJ and Garcia hot on her heels, each clad in bags of their own. Somehow they had managed to be late for their flight, there had been no free cabs around once they arrived in Vegas, and their wedding was supposed to start in half an hour.<p>

"Prentiss! You're an FBI agent, flash your damn badge!" Garcia yelled.

"No!"

"Emily! Do it!" JJ yelled in a tone that Emily knew not to screw with. Dropping one bag onto Garcia, she pulled out her badge and the man behind the counter all but threw their keys at her and ordered a bellhop to help them. The three woman bolted up to their rooms and got busy changing their clothes. Garcia had ordered two wedding dresses that she promised would look fantastic to each woman, apparently she had secretly gotten their measurements and given them to a renowned seamstress friend she had.

"You two can't change together!" Garcia yelled frantically.

"What? Seriously? Garcia we're late, who cares?" JJ asked.

"It is a tradition!" Garcia shoved JJ into the bathroom and threw her dress in with her. Emily just sighed and shucked her clothes, changing into her dress. This was insane, and she would be lying if she said it wasn't fun. Garcia had really outdone herself, Emily had to admit, she looked great.

"Garcia!" She exclaimed. "How did you..."

"I'm fantastic." Garcia said, not looking up. She was still changing herself. As she blonde stood and caught sight of Emily she shrieked.

"WHAT'S WRONG!" JJ yelled from behind the bathroom door. "I'm coming out!"

"NO DON'T!" Garcia screamed. "Every thing's fine. Your future wife just looks fucking fantastic."

"Well, then I really want to come out."

"Not yet." Garcia said firmly. "Prentiss, don't move. I want a picture."

"Ugh, Garcia..." Emily whined.

"Stay still." Garcia warned. Emily complied, but after the seventeenth photo she had to remind Garcia that they were running late. JJ was impatiently pounding on the bathroom door asking to be let out. Garcia had trapped her in with a chair after she tried to break out twice. "Okay, Emily, get your butt outside, Morgan is waiting for you. And I need pictures of Jayje."

"What about me?" JJ yelled in a muffled voice.

"You can't come out until Emily leaves."

"That's not fair."

"I'll see you later Jen." Emily called out. She could hear JJ kicking the door and cursing at Garcia. She laughed as she walked out of the room to meet Morgan. He whistled.

"Damn Princess, you clean up good." Morgan said offering his arm. She smacked him, but took it with a smile.

"Thank you, so do you."

"You ready for this?"

"Yeah." Emily beamed.

"Well come on then!"

The two of them headed down to the chapel and Emily stood allowing JJ's mother to fawn over her, it was kind of nice. She found that she actually really like Mary Jareau. She was very similar to JJ. The actual ceremony went by insanely quickly. All Emily could focus on was how amazing JJ looked. Garcia had really outdone herself. Emily never took her eyes off the blonde. She didn't hear a word the priest said, somehow she just repeated whatever he told her. After the kiss, Garcia and the team broke into cheers and took about a million photos. Emily barely paid attention to anything the rest of the night. All she knew was that she was with the people she loved and having a great time. Watching Morgan try to teach Reid to dance, seeing Hotch and Rossi smiling, she was ecstatic. JJ leand over and whispered in her ear.

"I love you."

"Love you too, Prentiss." Emily said with a smile. JJ beamed and snatched Emily's hand.

"Come on, we are gonna teach Reid to dance!" JJ yelled happily. Emily laughed and ran after her wife and spent the rest of the night dancing with her team.


End file.
